2010 SCS MABL Rules & Regulations

Rev. 4-8-2010

**GAME TIME LIMITS:

Game time limits in 2010 is 2:30 day or night. No new inning can start after the 2:30 mark even if the game is tied. Teams are to play as many innings as needed to break a tie within that 2:30 time limit. As an example if it is 10:59 PM or less and the game has been going on for 2:29 or less play one more inning to break that tie unless of course the teams have completed 7 innings and the score was not tied. In that case obviously the game is over. All games are over after 7 innings even if there is time to play more. The only exception to this is if the score is tied and the tie game conditions are met. The city is FLEXIBLE in regards to the 11:00 curfew so continue to play in the cases where a tie is attempting to be broken (and the tie conditions are met) OR the game started late for one reason or another. In these cases continue to play. This is mandatory not optional. The umpires have the official start time in the event of discrepancies and the managers have to be aware of this official start time as the 2:30 limit starts when the home team takes the field. NOTE: Managers are required to verify the official start time in the meeting at home plate with the umpires.

**BATTING LINE UP CARD RULE:

This is a new rule that both teams MUST exchange batting order cards to each other AND to the umpires prior to the start of every single game at the home plate (pre-game) meeting. Each card will have the player’s last name AND jersey number. NO EXCEPTIONS. These are the official line ups and any changes after the first pitch of the game fall under the pinch hitting rule and/or adding additional batters rule(s). There is no adjusting of the batting line up once the first pitch is thrown regardless of whether a player shows up late and another player has not hit yet the first time around in the batting order. That is all irrelevant now. All batting line up changes will fall under the pinch hitter rule and/or addition to the batting order rule(s). Managers are required to check with the Home Plate Umpire as what time the game is starting so there is no discrepancy with actual starting times. NOTE: A manager only may request identification of any player on the field at any time for the purposes of verifying and corresponding that player and jersey number to that team’s website team roster.

**15 MINUTE GRACE PERIOD:

There is a 15 minute grace period for the starting of all games IF in the event one or both teams are in danger of a forfeit (due to not having at least 8 players to start). This rule is simply to allow extra time for players running late to the game to join their team ONLY if they are in danger of a forfeit since they do not have at least 8 players to start that game. If any team has 8 they must start on time. If not they have an additional 15 minutes past the start time to get enough players ON THE FIELD and avoid the forfeit and start. If the 15 minute grace period expires and there are not at least 8 players ACTUALLY on the field (NOT WALKING UP TO THE FIELD) the game is forfeited. All timing is to be kept by the umpire(s) and their decision is final. Managers are to check with the Plate Umpire what time the game is starting so there is no discrepancy between anyones start time. NOTE: The game time duration is still 2:30 from the original start time NOT from the end of the 15 minute grace period. In other words the grace period cuts into your game time.

**COMPLETE & INCOMPLETE REGULAR SEASON GAMES:

Any regular season game called due to any weather issues will be replayed starting all over unless 5 innings have been completed or if the home team was winning in which case only 4 and 1/2 innings need be completed. In the event a rain out occurs after 5 complete innings the score would revert back to the last full inning’s score even if the visitor took the lead in the top of a given inning. This would nullify the visitors score if they took the lead in the top of the inning for instance. The score would still revert back to the last full inning’s score. All field conditions and weather related decisions are totally up to the umpires at that game at that time and are not open to protest. The umpire’s decision is final.

 **MINIMUM PLAYERS TO START & END A GAME:

IT IS NOW ILLEGAL FOR AN OPPOSING TEAM TO BORROW A PLAYER(S) TO ANOTHER TEAM TO HELP KEEP THEM FROM FORFIETING. A team may start a game with 8 players and that team does not suffer the burden of an automatic out. They would simply have an 8 man batting order but that team must end with a minimum of 8 players or more. Players can be added at any point in the game (at the bottom of the batting order) but the team must finish with at least 8 as well as start with 8. If a team starts with 9 or more they can still finish with 8. If a team starts with 9 or less and a player is ejected then they suffer the burden of an automatic out or forfeiture of the game in the event they lose a player due to ejection or injury after starting with 8. If a team starts with the normal mandatory 10 man batting order and then looses a player due to injury that spot is not an automatic out and the batting order would simply compress. If this same scenario was caused by an ejection then there would have to be a pinch hitter taking that spot in the batting order or it would be an automatic out.

  **BATS:

THIS IS AN ALL WOOD/WOOD COMPOSITE BAT LEAGUE. NO METAL IS ALLOWED.

**UNIFORMS:

All players must be in a full uniform to play in any game. This consists of a matching cap, jersey with number unique to that player alone, pants, belt and socks matching that team's character. Common sense should prevail here. No players can change jerseys once a game has started. Every player in the SCS MABL MUST have a jersey and number unique to him only that will be reflected on that team's roster. It will also identify him on the league website. Duplicate numbers will ONLY be allowed if there is a last name on the back to differentiate the two players. All jerseys should be tucked in and all issues will be dealt with by the umpire on the field and his decision is non-negotiable. Players may wear a jacket if running bases.

**EJECTIONS & SUSPENSIONS:

Any umpire will have all authority to eject any player, coach or fan at any time. These situations will be reviewed by the League President and the City of SCS. Suspensions will be reviewed and handed out on a game by game basis and the final decision comes from the League President. Typically one can expect a one game suspension for getting ejected due to language. Threats to players or umpires, spitting, physical violence in any form will be dealt with harshly and swiftly with the potential of receiving a suspension and/or being removed from the league indefinitely. This will simply not be tolerated nor will non-compliance by an individual with what an umpire has asked him to do. At the discretion of the League President these individuals will be dealt with ASAP following the incident. The game time will not be stopped or delayed to deal with these issues. The game clock keeps ticking and the normal game time limits apply.

 **COURTESY RUNNERS, PINCH HITTING & PINCH RUNNING RULES:

The ONLY courtesy runners allowed will be the last batted out for the pitcher and catcher. IT IS TOTALLY OPTIONAL FOR BOTH POSITIONS. In case of an injury the last batted out will run for the injured player and he will be out of the game for good on offense. Pinch running will be treated like pinch hitting. The runner may have a new player off the bench run for him as long as that player has not been in the batting line up prior. Once you are pinch run for you are out of the offensive lineup for good but may play defense, still just like pinch hitting. Anything goes on defense. If a player is pinch hit for or pinch run for he does not lose his spot defensively. In the event of an injury on offense or defense and there is no one to replace that player off the bench due to limited number of available players, the batting line up would simply compress eliminating that players spot in the batting order altogether without there being an automatic out. The injured player is out of the game altogether on offense and defense and the team would have to play shorthanded defensively.

**BASE RUNNING & SLIDING:

A runner must give himself up and avoid contact with any defensive player at all times. The spirit of this rule is for the runner to avoid contact at all costs and give himself up if necessary to avoid contact. This is also the case in terms of the runner intentionally or unintentionally impairing a play. Any contact or impairment to the defensive player (due to not sliding) by the runner on a play at a base is at the discretion of the umpire. This also applies in the case of a double play and is also at the umpire’s discretion. The umpire's decision on the field regarding this rule is final and not an option for a protest.

**INT BB:

If the defensive team chooses to issue an intentional base on balls to a batter the pitcher does NOT have to throw the 4 balls.  The defensive team can automatically walk the batter.

**Balks:

We will go with the Pro rule where the Balk is called but play is NOT dead until the play is over, allowing the batter to “choose” the best outcome of the play.

**Hit By Pitch:

A batter must make an attempt to get out of the way of a pitched ball.

 **OFFENSIVE AND DEFENSIVE LINE UPS & THE (A)--(B) RULE:

The offensive line up and the defensive line up are totally separate and have nothing to do with each other. Batting line-ups require a minimum of 10 players to bat if you have them. If you have less you can bat less but once more players show up you MUST BAT AT LEAST 10 BATTERS ASAP. There is no maximum number of batters you can have in the line up. Any batter can be added at the bottom of the line up at any time. If a team chooses to do so they may have an “A” and “B” batter in the line batting line-up. THE A-B OPTION IS ONLY AVAILABLE BEFORE THE BEGINNING OF THE GAME. These 2 batters would alternate batting in that slot in the order and if a player gets ejected the other player would take his place in the order full time so that slot is filled with NO automatic out. The same applies in case of an injury to one of the batters. Defensive changes do not need to be mentioned.  If a player is ejected he is either pinch hit for OR his spot in the line-up remains void and it is an automatic out UNLESS there was an “A” – “B” situation as mentioned above. On defense a pitcher can re-enter at any time and pitch again as well as any other position player re-entering.

**TEAM ROSTER REQUIREMENTS:

There is no numerical minimum roster requirement but the maximum number of players allowed on any teams roster at any time is 25. This holds true for the initial roster due 4-24-2010 and the final roster due 6-15-2010. After 6-15-2010 NO PLAYERS MAY BE ADDED TO A TEAM'S ROSTER. NO EXCEPTIONS WHATSOEVER.

**PLAYER WAIVER FORM REQUIREMENTS & PLAYER RELEASES:

Managers are responsible for getting a signed Waiver Form to the League President PRIOR to any player taking the field representing their team. If a player plays without the form being received by the League President PRIOR to him playing he is condisidered an illegal player. Teams will be required to obtain a copy of each players Driver’s License only if they are NEW to the league in 2010 OR if the president specifically requests it. Everyone else is grandfathered in. All players MUST also sign the waiver form. If a team is new to the league then all players on that team must submit a Driver’s License and sign a waiver form. Once players sign a team’s official waiver form along with providing a copy of their driver’s license (IF they are new to the league) these are to be given to the League President ASAP and that player is under the authority of that team’s manager for the duration of that season. Once this happens that player is the property of that team for that season regardless of personal differences or squabbles once the season starts or even before it starts. If a player is released (or if he quits the team) for any reason he must obtain in writing from his manager a release that he is free to play elsewhere. If the manager does not grant this then that player is locked out for that season. This letter must be given to the League President prior to any player movement.

NOTE: PLAYERS ARE FREE TO MOVE FROM TEAM TO TEAM AFTER THE COMPLETION OF ANY SEASON REGARDLESS OF ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.

**PROTESTS:

Only the acting manager in a game can protest the game. The protest must be made clear to the Home Plate Umpire PRIOR to the game resuming after a questionable rule violation only. If the game is protested after a pitch is thrown the option to protest is no longer available. Only rules violations (NOT ON FIELD CALLS) are eligible for protest. Results follow in 48 hours.

**FORFIETS & FEES:

Any game that is forfeited at the beginning (or retroactive due to illegal players) will be a 7-0 win for the opposing team in the league standings. Any game that is forfeited while in progress will revert back to the last full innings score and that will be the final score of that forfeited game. In the event a forfeit occurs during a game in progress and the forfeiting team was in the lead, the game will go down as a 7-0 win for the opposition regardless of the actual score at the time of the forfeit. REMEMBER IT IS ILLEGAL TO BORROW PLAYERS FROM ANOTHER TEAM TO AVOID A FORFEIT.

**AGE LIMITS, ILLEGAL PLAYERS AND ADDITIONAL FEES:

To play in the SCS MABL a player must be 23+ or a minimum of 22 years of age turning 23 in the calendar year of 2010. THERE ARE NO EXCUSES ACCEPTED ON THIS ISSUE. There is no maximum age limit. Any manager can request to see proof of age of any player at any time. If a player cannot provide proof of age at the time the opposing manager asks for it that manager can play the game under protest until the League President can investigate. Any team using an illegal player in a game forfeits that game. Any game participated in previously by the illegal player also goes down as a forfeit. Failure to abide by these rules can results in expulsion from the league for that team for that entire season. The remainder of that team’s games would all go down as 7-0 forfeits to whoever the opposing team was. All the games previously played would remain in the standings along with whatever those final scores were.

**(SCS PLAYOFFS) SEEDINGS, COMPLETE, SUSPENDED & CONTINUATION OF PLAYOFF GAMES:

For the 2010 Season we will have 8 teams. Each team will play a 28 game regular season schedule with each team facing off against all the others 4 times. For the 2010 Playoffs all teams will make the playoffs. Then the first round of the playoffs would be 1v8, 2v7, 3v6 and 4v5. The second round would have the winner of 1v8 versus the winner of 4v5 and the winner of 2v7 versus the winner of 3v6. After the first round the teams will NOT be reseeded. The top seed will be the home team in games 1 and 3 and in the World Series the top seed would also be the home team in game 5. NOTE: In the event of a playoff game or a World Series game being cut short due to any outdoor elements (i.e. rain, lighting, thunder and lightning, weather warnings, field conditions etc) that game will be suspended and continued at a later date determined by the League President unlike the rule for a regular season game which only requires 5 innings. The SCS World Series would be a best of 5 game World Series. NOTE: The rule on playoff game rain-outs is that the home team in a rained out game will remain the home team for the next consecutive game in the series. This ensures fairness in alternating home and away positions evenly in a playoff series.

Tiebreakers for the playoffs are as follows:

To determine playoff seedings:
1. Points
2. Head to Head
3. Most Overall Wins
4. Runs Against
5. Runs For

**(SCS PLAYOFFS) PLAYER QUALIFICATIONS:

In order for a player to qualify for the playoffs he must be on the final roster (June 15th) and play in a minimum of 5 DOCUMENTED games throughout the season. Documentation must be in the scorebook and any questionable player will be investigated by the League President. The decision will be swift, final and non-negotiable.

**MERCY RULE:

The only Mercy Rule in effect this year is a 10 run deficit after 5 complete innings. The game is over at that point. NOTE: THERE IS NO MERCY RULE IN THE PLAYOFFS.

**DUGOUTS:

All teams that are on the schedule as the home team will occupy the 3rd base dugout regardless of what field the game is at. NOTE: ALL TEAMS ARE EXPECTED TO CLEAN UP THEIR DUGOUT BEFORE LEAVING THE FIELD.

**SCORE REPORTING & LEAGUE WEBSITE INFORMATION:

Following the completion of a game the WINNING TEAM'S MGR. MUST EMAIL Jason Van Tol WITH THE SCORE/RAIN OUT ECT. This must be done that night or the next day before 10:00AM as we strive to keep an updated website for all to view. Please understand that this is mandatory. The managers promptness in this area cannot be stressed highly enough. Please do your small part in this area to keep things running smoothly.

The email address to SEND YOUR DAILY SCORES TO IS:  scores@scsmabl.com

The League Website Address for standings and general information is:  www.scsmabl.com

**FIELD CONDITIONS:

All field conditions such as weather related issues, lighting issues, chalking, fencing and locked gates are to be addressed to the League President and I will look into it and contact the proper people to try to fix the problem. The League President's Cell Number is 586-883-3093. Please leave a return number that you can be contacted back at. NEVER EVER try to fix the problem yourself regardless of what the issue is. Nobody is allowed in any of the equipment shacks at any time.

**RAIN OUT NUMBER/INFORMATION:

All games are on as scheduled unless the rain out numbers say otherwise (check website for all 3 field rain out numbers). These numbers will be updated typically between 3:00 and 6:00 daily with updated information pertaining to the present day’s games. BE SURE TO NOTICE WHAT DAY THE MESSAGE IS REFERRING TO AS AN OLD MESSAGE MAY STILL BE ON THERE. IF THIS IS THE CASE THE GAMES SCHEDULED FOR THAT PRESENT DAY (ALTHOUGH POSSIBLY RAINING ECT) ARE STILL ON. If a team does not show up to a scheduled game because it "looked rainy" or "heard an old message and thought it was for today" or "thought there was no way we could play because it was raining where I was" that game will be a forfeit AND THE FORFEIT FEES APPLY. If neither team shows up then it is a double forfeit. Both teams must have at least 8 players to play the game. THE GAME IS ALWAYS ON UNLESS PROVEN OTHERWISE.

*****MISC INFO FOR MANAGERS & UMPIRES ON THE FIELD:

PLEASE CALL THE LEAGUE PRESIDENT STEVEN PISKOROWSKI AT 586-883-3093. IF YOU GET A VOICEMAIL YOU WILL BE CALLED BACK WITHIN 5 MINUTES. IF ANY UPMPIRE IS UNAWARE OF THE RULES SET FORTH ABOVE, THE GAME IS TO BE TEMPORARILY STOPPED AND THE LEAGUE PRESIDENT IS TO BE IMMEDIATELY CONTACTED. THIS 2010 LIST OF RULES AND REGULATIONS SUPERCEED ANY OTHER PRIOR YEAR RULES AND/OR REGULATIONS.

Steven Piskorowski

Steven Piskorowski

S.C.S. MABL League President

Cell #: 586-883-3093