Local Rules Recommendations

We recommend playing with minimal local rules for Competitive Minors, Majors and above. Competitive Minors is any division which is fully kid-pitch, keeps score and standings. For most leagues these are divisions named AAA, PCL or Minors. For lower divisions, you have a pretty wide reign to make a set of game rules which works for your league. In fact, though much of the rule book still applies, you will need to write clear local rules for these lower divisions as the rule book does not address them very well. These include Wiffle Ball, T-Ball, Coach Pitch and other non-competitive Minors divisions.

It is common to include some rules directly as a point of focus for the league, since managers are more likely to read this document than the whole rule book. We recommend for each division you have a section called Modifications for local rules which change or are not otherwise in the rule book and a section called Clarifications which just highlight and/or clarify important rules to your league.

MINIMUM PLAY

We recommend the following modifications relating to minimum play rules:

1. We recommend 3 innings of minimum play instead of just 2.

2. For Minors and below, we recommend the rule that no player sits on the bench two innings until all players have sat for one inning, with an exception for the current player on the mound.

3. For Minors and below, during the regular season, all players must play a full inning in the infield and a full inning in the outfield in the first 4 innings of the game, unless there is a safety risk determined by the league Safety Officer and Player Agent.

DRAFT

We recommend a full redraft of all teams each year, as this is the best way to ensure competitive balance. Specifically in the rule book this is “Plan B”, and we recommend the “Alternate Method for Plan B” which uses a single pool. D52 has a blanket waiver to allow alternate slotting rules for protected players. We strongly recommend you have the Player Agent slot the protected players based on skill level in Majors, and not use the age-based method in the rule book. Slotting can be decided by any neutral person(s) chosen by the Board, but cannot be decided by the managers.

You may allowing managers to select a single head coach, subject to board approval, prior to the draft. This makes slotting of players more complicated, but as long as the board carefully considers all head coach selections and makes sure they do not lead to league imbalance, it can be effective.

TRY OUTS

It is up to you how you run try-outs.

All players must attend at least one try-out. Players who cannot attend due to conflicts should at least be rated by the player agent and that information shared with all managers. This can be done in a one-on-one session if required. Players who cannot perform due to injury should also get rated by the player agent based on community knowledge and that information shared with all managers. It's important that there are no "surprise" players in the draft room. If you truly have a new player who cannot try-out due to injury you just need to get as much information as you can and share it.

At the try-outs, someone will rate the players. This is typically the managers, but can also include neutral board members or someone from outside the league. Either way, we recommend that you treat this as a community activity and have ratings done on the same scale and shared with the player agent, who will aggregate them and share this information with all the managers.

The goal is balanced teams, and the more information is shared the better. Remember that all this information, as well as draft results are to be kept confidential at all times. Encourage the managers to shred any paperwork after the draft.

RULES WITH LEAGUE OPTIONS - RECOMMENDED

The rule book lays out several rules which have local league options. Your local rules should indicate your option for all of these you wish to adopt. We recommend leagues adopt the following:

1. Adopt continuous batting order (CBO), also known as roaster batting, in Majors as it is in Minors. (Rule: 2.00)

2. Follow All-Stars and adopt the rule which requires (with some exceptions) that after entering the batter’s box, the batter must remain in the box with at least one foot throughout the at bat. This rule is adopted in All-Stars and it helps to keep the game moving. (Rule 6.02(c))

3. Follow All-Stars and consider it unsportsmen-like conduct to stealing and relaying signs to alert the batter of the pitch selection. (Rule 9.01(a))

4. We recommend limiting the mercy rule to only "10 after 4", and not the "15 after 3" or "8 after 5". Too much effort goes into the season to end a game after only 3 innings when it's possible that not all players have even batted. Similarly, if a team is only up 8 after 5, you might as well finish the game.  (Rule 4.10(e))

5. Use the double first base in all divisions. Double first base becomes mandatory in high school starting in 2027. (Rule 1.06)

6. In at least your highest division of Minors, remove the 5-run cap from “the last half-inning for either team”. We suggest interpreting the “last half inning” to be the 6th inning, or any earlier inning declared by the chief umpire to be the last inning due to time-limits or darkness. (Rule 5.07)

7. For Minors, adopt the rule that protests are resolved prior to the next pitch or play. This is essentially a no-protest rule. (Rule 4.19(g))

RULES WITH LEAGUE OPTIONS - NOT RECOMMENDED

The following rules are local league options mentioned in the rule book which we do not recommend, but they may be appropriate for your league:

1. There are several rules which allow for substitution of the runner. In general, we feel that kids like to run the bases and if they get a hit (or walk) they should be allowed to do so. There are two such rules:

   • You may adopt the use of a courtesy runner for the catcher and/or pitcher of record when there are two outs. Under CBO, the runner is always the last player put out, otherwise it must be a player not in the line-up. (Rule 3.04, 7.14(b))

   • If you are not using CBO, teams are permitted to use a pinch runner once per inning using a player not in the line-up. The removed player remains in the line-up. A player can only be removed once per game. You may adopt instead the more restrictive All-Stars version of this rule which only allows two pinch runners per game total. (Rule 7.14(a), Tournament Rule 3(d))

2. Normally games require 9 players to begin, and 9 players at all times to continue. We feel that in the larger leagues, managers should be using the pool player process to ensure they have 10 players planned for the game so they do not run into this problem. However, you may elect to change the 9 player requirement to 8 players. If you do, you may decide the 9th spot in the batting order is skipped without penalty or if it is an out. (Rules: 1.01, 4.04, 4.16(a), 4.17, 6.05(n))

3. Normally the third strike uncaught rule applies to Majors and above. You may choose to adopt a change to play that third strikes are always outs, as it is in Minors. (Rule 6.05(b)(2))

4. Normally games are played without time limits. The rule book allows you to adopt a 1 hour 45 minute time limit for Majors and below, and a 2 hour time limit for teenage division. Also, though it’s not clear in the book, you may set the time limit to any value greater than these, but not less than these. (Rule 4.10(c)(2), 4.11(d)(2))

5. You may allow the umpire to stand behind the pitcher. (Rule 9.04(a))

6. You may adopt your own regulations governing games interrupted by a light failure. (Rule 5.10(b))

COMMON ADDITIONS

The following rules are in addition to the rule book, but are common in the district and worth considering.

1. Prohibition on slash-bunting. If put in place for safety reasons, this is an approved addition. However, this will not be prohibited in tournament play.

2. Allowing the game to continue as an exhibition after the “mercy rule” has been triggered. This is an approved addition.

3. Prohibition on intentional walks. This is not approved without a waiver.

4. Removal of 5 run cap in Minors after the 3rd inning. This is not approved without a waiver.

STRUCTURE OF LOCAL RULES DOCUMENT

The following should be present in your local rules document (or set of documents):

1. An outline of all divisions and the eligibility requirements for them (ages, etc).

2. Player Section Policies (both for drafting and non-drafting divisions)

3. Player Replacement Policies (both for temporary and permanent replacements)

4. Local rules for each division

5. Ground rules for each field you use, if needed

6. League championship tournament (including seeding rules) and other special games

7. Make-up policy for rain-outs and other cancelled games

8. All-Star Selection Policy