Ames Little League Baseball

Ames Little League Baseball (A.L.L.B.) is organized exclusively as a non-profit organization providing instruction and training in the game of baseball for children between the ages of five and sixteen years of age. The objective of A.L.L.B shall be to implant in participants, through the activities of the league, the ideals of good sportsmanship, honesty, loyalty, courage and respect for authority, so that they may be well adjusted, stronger and happier children and will grow to be decent, healthy and trustworthy adults. With this objective in mind, managers and coaches with A.L.L.B. shall bear in mind that stressing exceptional athletic skills or winning games is secondary, and that the type of leadership extended to participants is of prime importance.

General A.L.L.B. Policies:

1. One member of the Board of Directors, designated as the "Officer of the Day", will be present at the Hunziker Youth Sports Complex ("HYSC") whenever regularly scheduled league games are being played. The Officer of the Day is responsible for the general welfare of Ames Little League Baseball and its members.

2. In the event of lightning, practices or games must be suspended immediately and can not resume until 30 minutes after the last time lightning was seen. The Officer of the Day will enforce this policy for all games being played at HYSC. It is the responsibility of the managers and coaches to comply and support the ruling of the Officer of the Day. It is the responsibility of the managers and coaches to strictly enforce this policy for team practices and games in which they are participating that are not being played HYSC. Umpires are not responsible for enforcing this policy.

3. Any adult who will have repetitive (more than twice) contact with the players is required to fill out the official little league volunteer application and submit it to the Division Vice-President (supervising, managing, coaching, and helping coach counts as contact). Once approved, this individual is a "Registered Volunteer".

4. Managers and coaches involved in A.L.L.B. are expected to conduct themselves in an exemplary way, setting an excellent example of sportsmanship, tolerance of individual differences, and commitment to instruction. When setting this excellent example of sportsmanship, managers and coaches are expected to model, encourage and require good sportsmanship by players, parents and other coaches.

5. Players involved in A.L.L.B. are expected to conduct themselves by showing good sportsmanship, tolerating individual differences, and be committed to learn from instruction.

6. No manager or coach shall be allowed to manage and/or coach two teams in Ames Little League Baseball without approval from the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors will not grant this approval to any manager or coach who has not managed or coached in Ames Little League before.

7. First aid boxes are located in the dugouts of Hunziker Youth Sports Complex Fields 1, 2, 3 and 4. All teams are issued a first aid kit to keep with them at all Ames Little League Baseball events (meetings, practices and games). In the event of any accident requiring the use of first aid supplies, an accident report will be filled out and the league safety officer will be notified.

8. Medical release forms for each and every player on the roster must be with the manager and coach at all Ames Little League Baseball events (meetings, practices and games).

9. Make-up games should be re-scheduled as soon as possible. As field usage is at premium, re-scheduled games take precedence over practices if necessary.

10. The home team is responsible for notifying the Director of Game Schedules of any cancellations, make-up dates and times.

11. Umpires will bring two game balls to the field prior to the start of Juniors, Majors and AAA Division games. The home team manager will bring two game balls to the field prior to the start of AA, A, and Tee Ball Division games.

12. The ball used must meet Little League specifications and standards. (Section 1.09 page 52).

13. Home team will occupy the third base dugout.

14. Visiting team will untarp the pitching mound prior to the game.

15. Home team will chalk the field at Brookside and North River Valley.

16. Home team rakes the infield after the game (the entire infield at Brookside and North River Valley Fields; only the low spots to fill in the holes at Hunziker Youth Sports Complex).

17. Visiting team patches holes in the pitching mound, rakes it smooth, waters it and tarps it after the game (Water is not available at Brookside Park).

18. Visiting team picks up trash around the field after the game.

19. In the event that a field has not been made ready for play at the HYSC (i.e., fields lined, pitching mound untarped, etc.), the managers and coaches of both the Home and Visiting team shall be equally responsible for making the field ready for play and for getting the game started on time, if possible. The Officer of the Day shall be responsible to make equipment available.

20. The "on-deck" position is not permitted. Only the first batter of each half inning will be permitted outside the dugout between half innings (Section 1.08 Notes 1 & 2 page 52). This rule does not apply to the Junior Division.

21. A League Official (Officer of the Day or Division VP) shall check all personally owned bats prior to use in a game. All bats must conform to Little League Rule 1.10 (page 52). Bats that pass inspection will be specially marked and will not have to be inspected again as long as the special mark is present. The Manager is responsible for ensuring that a League Official has approved all bats that are in use by that Managers team.

22. The batter, all base runners and player base coaches are required to wear helmets (Section 1.16 page 54). This includes practices and batting cage work. No exceptions.

23. The catcher is required to wear a catcher’s mitt (Section 1.12 page 53) except in the Tee Ball Division in which the catcher may use their own glove in lieu of the catcher’s mitt.

24. All catchers are required to wear a cup, chest protector, a catcher’s helmet with a mask and dangling type throat protector and shin guards during practice, warm-ups and games (Section 1.17 page 54) except in the Tee Ball Division in which the catcher only has to wear a catcher’s helmet with a mask and dangling type throat protector. The Tee Ball catcher is required to stand at least 10 feet behind home plate before the ball is placed on the tee and must remain there until the ball is hit.

25. The runner is out when the runner does not slide or attempt to get around a fielder who has the ball and is waiting to make the tag and the runner is out when the runner slides head first (Section 7.08 (a) page 81). Junior Division players may slide head first.

26. Any umpire's decision which involves judgment, such as, but not limited to, whether a batted ball is fair or foul, whether a pitch is a strike or a ball, or whether a runner is safe or out is final. No player, manager, coach or substitute shall object to any such judgment decision (Section 9.02 (a) page 93).

27. No siblings or non-players are allowed in the dugout or on the field during games. (No bat boys or girls).

The Junior Division is for players 13 to 14 years old who want to play in competitive baseball games and continue to learn the fundamentals of baseball. The primary goals of the Junior Division are to have fun, to teach the players the fundamentals of baseball, and to allow them to experience the value of teamwork in a competitive environment. In keeping with the philosophy of learning the fundamentals of baseball, players shall play multiple positions during the season.

The 2010 edition of the Official Regulations and Playing Rules for All Divisions of Little League Baseball will be followed and should be consulted for more details and other rules that apply. Items below are highlights of some of the rules that apply to this age group but they are not all inclusive.

1. Playing Time

a. Every player on the team roster will participate in the game for a minimum of 6 defensive outs and bat at least one time (Section IV (i) page 36).

b. Playing time must also conform to local rule #3 below.

c. The player may enter and/or re-enter defensively anytime during the game provided that the mandatory play requirements are met (Section 4.04 page 65).

2. Pitching

a. Any player on the team roster may pitch (Section VI (a) page 38).

b. A player once removed as a pitcher may not pitch again the same game (Section VI (b) page 38).

c. The manager must remove the pitcher when said pitcher reaches 95 pitches (85 pitches if the player is Little League age 12) but the pitcher may remain in the game at another position.

d. A pitcher who delivers 41 or more pitches in a game cannot play the position of catcher for the remainder of that day. (Section VI (c) page 38).

e. Pitchers must adhere to the following rest requirements (Section VI (d) page 38):

i. 66 or more pitches in a day, 4 calendar days of rest must be observed.

ii. 51 to 65 pitches in a day, 3 calendar days of rest must be observed.

iii. 36 to 50 pitches in a day, 2 calendar days of rest must be observed.

iv. 21 to 35 pitches in a day, 1 calendar day of rest must be observed.

v. 1 to 20 pitches in a day, no (0) calendar day of rest is required.

f. Pitches delivered in games declared "Regulation Tie Games" or "Suspended Games" shall be charged against pitcher’s eligibility.

g. In suspended games resumed on another day, the pitchers of record at the time the game was halted may continue to pitch to the extent of their eligibility for that day, provided said pitcher has observed the required days of rest.

3. Batting

a. A continuous batting order that includes all players on the team roster present for the game shall be used.

b. Each player is required to bat in his/her respective spot in the batting order.

4. Game Procedures

a. A regulation game consists of 7 innings (Section 4.10 (a) page 67).

b. If after five innings or four and half innings if the home team is ahead, one team has a lead of 10 runs or more, the game is complete and shall end (Section 4.10 (e) page 67).

c. At the beginning of each inning, the pitcher shall be permitted to pitch no more than 8 preparatory pitches. Such preparatory pitches shall not consume more than one minute of time (Section 8.03 page 90).

d. Managers or coaches shall not warm up a pitcher at home plate or in the bull pen or elsewhere at anytime (Section 3.09 page 63).

Local Rules Adopted By A.L.L.B.

1. Game Log

a. The Manager from each team will prepare and maintain an official A.L.L.B. game log for their team. The Manager may delegate the maintenance of the game log to a parent, but the Manager is responsible for the log’s accuracy.

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b. A game log will detail the batting line-up of one team, positions that each player plays during the course of the game, names and numbers of all pitchers (both teams) and pitch counts.

c. Both managers will sign both teams’ official game logs and give both copies to the umpire immediately following the game.

2. Pitching

a. A representative from each team (i.e., including Coaches, Managers, and Parents) shall track pitch counts and meet with the other team’s representative after each ½ inning to agree to and record the official pitch count for each player that pitched during the ½ inning on each team’s official game log. The Manager is responsible to insure that this is done.

3. Playing Time

a. Every player on the team roster that is present for a game shall play a minimum of three complete innings defensively.

b. Any player who does not play the minimum of three innings in a game shortened due to time, weather, 10 run rule or the visiting team being behind after the top half of the last inning, will start the following game and play three consecutive complete innings.

c. Failure to comply with rules 3a and 3b will result in forfeiture of the game and repeated violations of this rule may result in removal of the manager or coach from the league.

4. Game Procedures

a. There is a five run limit per half-inning for innings 1, 2, and 3.

b. Games are limited to 7 innings or the time limit. No new inning can be started after 130 minutes of play (a new inning begins immediately after the final out is recorded in the previous inning). The game will end upon completion of any full inning after 130 minutes regardless of the score. Any game that is halted by the time limit will be considered a complete game regardless of the number of innings played.

c. If the score is tied at the end of 7 complete innings, but the time limit has not been reached, additional innings ("extra innings") can be played up to the time limit. If extra innings are played (any inning beyond 7), the game will end upon a) completion of any full inning in which the score is not tied, b) the home team taking the lead in the bottom of an extra inning, or c) completion of any full inning after 130 minutes regardless of the score. If the score is tied once the time limit has elapsed, then the game shall be considered a tie.

d. Home team provides the base umpire and scoreboard operator.

5. End of Season Tournament Playing Rules

a. Regular season playing rules will be utilized with the following exception for the end-of-season tournament only:

i. If a game ends with a tie score either after becoming a regulation game (7 innings) or when the time limit is reached, "California Rules" will be used for any extra innings until a winning team can be declared. Each half inning will begin with the players who were the last two batters in the previous inning at second and third base, and the batting team will start with one out.