BEREA BASEBALL ASSOCIATION
RULES AND REGULATIONS for 7/8 Year Old League
Only the Executive Board of the Berea Baseball Association may change or modify these rules.
Official Little League Rules apply, except as amended herein:

RULE 1.0 DIVISIONS & PLAYER ELIGIBILITY

1.01 League Divisions & Player Ages
Age 7 – A ball player cannot turn 8 years old prior to Aug 1st of the current year.
Age 8 – A ball player cannot turn 9 years old prior to Aug 1st of the current year.

1.02  If a player is a participant on any travel team, he is not eligible to play in the Berea, in-house, recreational league.

1.03  Exceptions to the above rules must be approved by the League Director.

RULE 2.0 UNIFORMS, EQUIPMENT AND THE PLAYING FIELD

2.01 Jersey, pants, caps and socks are provided by the Berea Baseball Association and should be worn by each player during the game. Jerseys cannot be altered and should be tucked in. Earrings or other piercings, watches, necklaces, or other loose jewelry must be removed prior to start of a scheduled game. Medical alert jewelry or religious emblems are permitted provided that they are taped down or otherwise secured prior to the player taking the field.

2.02Baseball bats must meet Little League specifications and standards. They should be made of wood or of material tested and proved acceptable to Little League standards. Bats may be taped or fitted with a sleeve for a distance not exceeding sixteen (16") inches from the small end. Softball bats are not allowed.

2.03. Bat Size
Bats may not exceed 30" in length or 2 1/4" in diameter.

2.04 Illegal bats must be removed. If an illegal bat is discovered after a ball is hit, the batter will be called out and base runners will return to their original bases.

2.05 Balls, bats, catching equipment and helmets are supplied by the BBA. Coaches and players should respect this equipment. A ball player, without prior warning, may be ejected from the game for throwing his equipment in anger. A team warning will be issued in regard to any further infraction of the rule, resulting in a forfeiture
of the game. Helmets must be worn by a player when on-deck, batting, running the bases, or coaching a base.

2.06 No metal spikes are allowed.

2.07 The Playing Field
Bases will be a distance of sixty (60') feet and the pitchers mound will be forty-five (45') feet from home plate.

RULE 3.0 GAME PRELIMINARIES, GROUND RULES

3.01  Only the team head coach, assistant coaches, players in uniform, and a batboy are permitted in the dugout or playing area. The batboy must wear a helmet when on the field of play.

3.02  Players, coaches, and assistants should not address, or mingle with spectators, nor sit in the stands during a game in which they are participating in, with the exception of controlling unruly behavior.

3.03  The home team will occupy the first base dugouts. The home team will also be the official scorekeeper.

3.04  The infield fly rule - Not applicable to this league.

3.05  Appeal plays (runner missing a base, runner leaving early on a tag up, etc.) will be the responsibility of the umpire and decided immediately. No appeal from the coach or player is necessary.

3.06 In the event of an extreme possible injury (ball impacting player, player collision), time will be called and play will stop (dead ball). Runners may not advance after time has been called and may be sent back to the base that he was originally occupying or running to at the time of the injury based on ”dead ball” rules.

RULE 4.0 STARTING AND PLAYING TIME

4.01. Infield practice will be determined by the time left before the start of the next game. The umpires will have the authority in this matter. There will be no infield/outfield practice after the first inning.

4.02 Regulation Games
Games are to be one (1) hour long with no new inning started after the first forty-five (45) minutes of play. There are no minimum or maximum innings needed to constitute a complete game. Play will be discontinued at the one hour mark regardless of which team is ahead.

4.02a Continued games
Any game suspended due to weather, acts of nature, equipment malfunction, or curfew will be replayed, continued, or cancelled at the discretion of the League director.

4.03 Games will begin at scheduled times, provided the umpires and fields are ready for play. The umpire will record the starting time in the home team scorebook. An inning may not start past two (2) hours. Rain delays and cancellations after the game begins are at the umpire’s discretion. The following rules will apply in lightning disturbances:

a.A 30-second or less flash-to-bang count will result in removal of all players from the field to an appropriate shelter

b.Thirty-minute rule. Once play has been suspended, there must be at least a 30 minute wait after the last flash of lightning is witnessed, or thunder is heard, prior to resuming play.

4.04 Run Rule
There will be no run rule. The inning or half-inning will end when the batting team reaches the bottom of the order or three (3) outs are recorded. The maximum number of batters per inning is equal to the number of players in attendance on the larger team that game.

4.05 Number of Defensive Players
The team will field eleven (11) players in defensive positions. Five (5) of these players will be positioned in the outfield or a minimum of ten (10) feet beyond the base paths. No player may play the same defensive position for more than two (2) innings.

4.06 Teams must have a minimum of eight (8) players on the field no later
than ten (10) minutes after the scheduled start of the game. Teams fielding seven (7) players will forfeit the game.

4.07. On offense: All players will remain in their original spot in the batting order for the entire game. Players who arrive after the game begins will be assigned to the spot(s) following the last player in the batting order when the game began

4.08 On defense: If more than 11 players are in attendance, the "extra" player(s) will remain on the bench when their team is in the field. No player shall be on the bench for more than one (1) inning except in the case of injury or other disability.

4.09 No verbal abuse, heckling, badgering, or name-calling of any player, umpire, coach, or fan will be tolerated. There will be no organized noise or chanting prior to, or during the pitchers delivery (i.e.: banging bats, shaking fence, "rally, rally", etc.).

RULE 5.0 THE BATTER & ADDITIONAL HITTER

5.01 Batting Procedure
Every player will bat in the line up, whether playing in the field or not. Each batter will receive five (5) pitches, or three (3) swings, which ever comes first, before he is declared out..

5.02. Bunting
There will be no bunting in any situation.

5.03 Dropped Third Strikes
Not applicable to this league.

5.04 A batter will be declared out when failing to bat in proper turn, and another batter completes a time at bat in place of the proper batter. Base runners would return to their normal bases. The proper batter may take position in the batters box at any time before the improper batter becomes a runner or is put out, and any balls and strikes shall be counted in the proper batter's time at bat.

5.05 A batter will be issued a warning for a bat that has been "thrown" bat following a hit ball. A second infraction in the same game will cause the batter to be called out. The next infraction will result in that player being ejected from the game. ( Differs from "Equipment Thrown in Anger" rule. See 2.04)

RULE 6.0 THE CATCHER

6.01  Catchers Maximum Number of Innings. Catchers will be allowed a maximum of 2 innings per game.

6.02  The catcher must maintain a crouch position with both knees off of the ground while a pitch to the home plate is still "in play".

6.03  Courtesy runner - The coach has the option to utilize a courtesy runner to allow the catcher to put on his equipment if there are 2 outs in the inning. Runner selected will be the player who made the last batted out.

RULE 7.0 THE RUNNER

7.01. Lead Offs. There will be no lead offs permitted.

7.02  Stealing of Bases There will be no base stealing.

7.03  Overthrows Play will stop when there is an overthrow (dead ball) to any position. Base runners will not advance.

7.04  When players are advancing to any base, they must slide if the defensive player has control of the ball and is in position to tag the runner out. The umpire may allow casual contact; however, if flagrant contact occurs in the umpire’s judgment, the player causing such contact will be ejected from the game. A base runner that does not slide or surrender and causes contact with a defensive player will be called out.

7.05  Sliding head first into any base will not be permitted unless the base runner is returning to the original base. One team warning will be given and any additional headfirst slides will be called out.

7.06  Fielders may not block the base path or base unless they are fielding the ball or have possession of the ball and are making a play on the base runner. No fake tags.

7.07  Base runners must allow a fielder to make a play on the ball. If the runner interferes with the fielder, he will automatically be called out.

7.08 A runner will be called out if he runs more than three (3') feet away from a direct line between bases to avoid being tagged.

RULE 8.0 PITCHERS

8.01 Pitchers Weekly Maximum Number of Innings Pitcher is a defensive position only.

8.02 Base on Balls & Hit Batters Batters will not advance to first base on anything but a ball hit in play.

RULE 9.0 CONDUCT OF COACHES, ASSISTANT COACHES, FANS

9.01  Only the team head coach may address the umpire or the opposing team’s head coach concerning a rules interpretation, disputed call, or questions concerning the game, etc. Violation of this rule by an assistant coach, player, or fan will result in verbal warning given to the head coach. Any additional or subsequent infractions will result in the immediate ejection of the head coach and or any assistant coach, player, or fan that becomes involved in these meetings.

9.02  If the head coach is unable to attend a game, a designated head coach must be declared to the plate umpire prior to the start of the game. All games must begin and end with a BBA approved, adult coach on the field.

9.03  Head coaches are to keep their assistant coaches, players, and fans under control at all times. The umpire may eject the head coach, assistant coach, player or fan if he deems necessary, from the playing field area. The Head coach will be allowed reasonable time to control his assistant coaches, players or fans before he will be subject to possible ejection. A second ejection for one (1) team (including players, coaches, and/or fans) in any game will result in immediate and final forfeiture of the game. Following a second ejection (players, coaches and/or fans) during the season, the head coach will be suspended. Re-instatement is as defined by rule 9.04.

9.04  Ejection of a coach (head or assistant), or a violation of the rules herein, will earn the head coach a minimum suspension for that game plus the next scheduled game. Following an ejection the head coach may not coach again until a committee consisting of the BBA President, the Director of Operations, and the League Director reviews him. If any of the above is not readily available, a pre-approved representative of the BBA Board of Directors will serve. During this suspension, the coach may not have any contact with his team prior to, during, or after a game. This also includes any team practices or team meetings.

9.05 No BBA coach will be permitted to smoke, chew tobacco, or
consume alcoholic beverages while practicing with or coaching a BBA team.

9.06 Profanity by any head coach, assistant coach, or player is subject to immediate ejection from the game.