Puyallup Babe Ruth Rules
The league will follow all rules listed in the official Babe Ruth Rules and Regulations book and the official baseball rulebook except as modified below.
OFFICIAL GAMES
● All regulation games consist of seven (7) innings.
● All games must be played. No games may be rescheduled without permission of the Division Director. Unauthorized game changes could result in forfeits.
● No new inning shall begin after two hours.
● An official game is five innings. If the home team is ahead after 4 1/2 innings, this constitutes an official game. All games stopped due to darkness or weather and are not official shall be treated as a suspended game and shall be resumed from the point play has stopped.
● All games suspended games that are official shall revert to the score of the previously completed inning.
● In the event of a tie after seven (7) completed innings, the Kansas City tiebreaker format shall be used for each additional inning until the tie is broken.
10-RUN RULE
If a team is ahead by ten runs or more after completion of either the fifth or sixth inning, the game is over.
ROSTER
● A team must have eight players from their own roster to play a game. In the regular season, you may select another player from your division to complete a lineup in emergency situations only and the opposing manager must approve. In the playoffs, all players must be on your official roster. A roster must not exceed 15 players.
APPEARANCE IN GAME
● A manager shall attempt to use each player in the field for two innings and provide one at bat in a seven inning game.
● Scorebook must reflect when an individual enters and exits the game.
● A manager, at his discretion, may choose to use a ten man batting order, with one individual serving as the extra hitter (EH). The extra hitter shall alternate in the field with any player in the regular lineup but shall always bat in the same place in the lineup. If the manager uses a ten man batting order they may also use a designated hitter (DH) for any position in the field.
● If a manager chooses to have a continuous batting order, known as “batting the lineup”, then free substitution is allowed.
● If a manager chooses not to have a continuous batting order then he shall advise the umpire and the opposing coach prior to the start of the game and shall designate the same on his lineup card.
SLIDE RULE
● A runner must slide into any base if there is a play at that base (excluding 1 st base). At home plate, a play is defined as within three feet from home plate.
● The catcher may block home plate only when they possess the baseball.
● A runner will be called out if, in the umpire's opinion, there should have been a slide on the play.
BAT RULES
● All metal or composite bats used by players must be stamped with the BBCOR .50 or USA Baseball markings.
● Wood bats may be used.
MISCELLANEOUS
● Courtesy runners will be allowed for injured players. The courtesy runner will be the player that made the last out.
● Catchers must wear all protective equipment and catching helmets when behind the plate.
● Metal spikes are permitted.
● For each game, the home team shall provide two (2) new game balls and the visiting team shall provide one (1) new game ball to the umpire
PITCHING: 13-15 Year Old Division (please also see the Pitch Count Rules Document)
● Manager must keep pitching logs on all pitchers and record it in the scorebook when the pitcher has started and stopped.
● After each game, the home manager shall report via e-mail the following: each pitcher used, the number of pitches thrown by each pitcher, and the final score of the game. ● A pitcher must be removed after the second trip to the mound by a manager/coach during any inning. ● Once a pitcher is removed from the mound he may not return to the mound to pitch for the remainder of that game.
● All pitchers are allowed one warning on a balk before the balk rule is enforced prior to May 1st. After that date, all balk rules are enforced without warning.
● Pitchers must accept all catcher signals with the pitcher's foot in contact with the pitching rubber.
● Any player on a regular season roster is eligible to pitch.
● If a player throws 81 or more pitches, they may not play the position of catcher.
Pitch Count Limits
Maximum of 95 pitches per day
1-20 pitches, 0 days of rest
21-35 pitches, 1 day of rest
36-50 pitches, 2 days of rest
51-65 pitches, 3 days of rest
66+ pitches, 4 days of rest
Calendar days must be consecutive.
Calendar days do not begin until the following day of the last pitch thrown.
Pitchers are cleared to throw the day AFTER the last calendar day of rest.
Please see Pitch Count Rules under documents tab on www.puyallupcalripken.com for full list of rules.
Pitch Count Tracking
● Home team scorebook is the official pitch count record for the game
● Both managers and umpire must sign the home scorebook before leaving the field
● The pitch count recorder must provide the current pitch count for any pitcher when requested by either manager or the umpire
● The manager is responsible for knowing the pitch count of his pitcher and when the pitcher needs to be removed
● Managers should discuss and resolve any disputes about pitch counts at the time a discrepancy is noticed or before leaving the field. Once you leave the field, the home team record is the official game record.
● It is the manager’s responsibility to protect the pitcher and not risk injury by throwing a pitcher too much or when injured!