Drost Park Khoury League – Tee-Ball 2 Rules
Effective – 03/01/2002
TEE-BALL
2
This baseball division is
designed to introduce the basic skills required for the sports of baseball and
softball, along with the concepts of team play and sportsmanship. To be eligible to play Tee-Ball, the boy and
girl players in this division must have attained the age of six or seven during
the calendar year of the current year.
(Children that have reached the age of five during the calendar year are
allowed to play at the discretion of their parents, taking into regards the
maturity and abilities of the child.)
EQUIPMENT
Players must furnish their
own baseball gloves and shoes. Rubber
spikes or all-purpose shoes may be worn.
Steel spikes are not permitted.
The league will supply caps, jerseys, and shorts/baseball pants for each
child. The league will supply each
tee-ball team with batting helmets, Khoury League sanctioned rag or soft vinyl
training balls, tee-ball bats, and a batting tee. Players are allowed to use their own bats. (No porcelain bats allowed.)
LENGTH OF GAME
A game is five innings or
two hours in duration. No inning will
be allowed to start 90 minutes after the scheduled start time of a game. An inning consists of either three outs or
five runs (which ever occurs first) for each team. The ten run rule isn’t in effect. Since this is an instructional division, the entire five innings
should be played. In an effort to
shorten the length of games, the manager will expedite his players on and off
the field between innings. Extra
innings are not necessary because no standings are kept and all games end in a
tie. A game that cannot be played for
the entire five innings for any valid reason, including but not limited to calls
because of bad weather or poor visibility, will be considered a complete game
if three or more innings have been completed.
PLAYING FIELD
Bases will be marked
fifty-five feet (55’0”) apart. The
pitcher’s rubber will be twenty feet (25’0”) from home plate. There will be a chalk arc, baseline to
baseline, fifteen feet (15’0”) in front of home plate in normal fair territory;
any ball coming to rest between this arc and home plate will be considered
foul.
FOUL TERRITORY: All areas usually considered foul plus the area in front of the home plate inside the fifteen foot (15’0”) arc.
FAIR TERRITORY: All areas usually considered
in fair territory between the first and third baselines with the exception of
the area inside the arc in front of home plate.
PLAYERS
Each team must field all rostered players in attendance at the start of a scheduled game. Normal infield positions (1B, 2B, 3B, SS, P) will be fielded and all remaining players will play in the outfield (beyond the identified infield/outfield line). The catcher’s position will be optional (see Defense/Catcher). Fifteen players are the maximum a team may carry on a roster. Teams may play a game with a minimum of only six players in attendance. A game will not be played if either of the teams scheduled to play have less than six players. This will be considered a forfeit for the team not meeting the minimum player requirement.
However, don’t waste the opportunity to play the game and have some fun. Loan or borrow some players and have a practice game. The kids usually want to play.
OFFENSE
All players in attendance will bat in the “Round Robin” mode. A player must wear a protective batting helmet while at bat and while on base as an offensive player. A coach will be permitted to pitch THREE pitches to each batter before the batting tee must be used. A free pitch will be given to the batter for EACH foul ball. This coach will pitch from the pitching rubber marked twenty-five (25’0”) feet from home plate. The batting tee is the responsibility of the offensive manager/coach and should be kept in close proximity to home plate to speed play. The manager/coach will place the batting tee so that the bottom of the tee is centered over the home plate. The manager/coach will then set the tee height for each player and place the ball upon the tee. Players should not set the ball on the tee. The Umpire must declare “PLAY BALL” before the batter may swing at the ball. The manager/coach must remove the batting tee from the home plate area when a play makes it necessary. A team will receive one warning per game for failure to remove the batting tee. After the warning, that team’s failure to remove the tee will be ruled an obstruction and the runner from third base will be called out. This is a safety rule for the protection of the runner and the catcher.
BATTING ORDER: The batting order shall be the players listed by name (and/or jersey number) in the order they are to bat. The batting order shall contain the entire roster of players. Batting orders shall be exchanged between managers prior to the start of the game. If batting out of order occurs, the scorekeeper shall inform the manager that a player has batted out of order. There shall be no penalty and that player shall not have another turn at bat, but shall resume the normal position next time up.
STRIKE OUTS: There will be no strike outs in this
division.
BUNTING: Bunting is not permitted. However, a ball rolling into fair territory
after incidental contact has been made either to the ball or to the tee will be
considered a fair ball. If the ball
rolls into foul territory, it will be considered foul.
BASE RUNNING: On a batted fair ball, all
players will advance at their own risk.
The runner which made the hit, plus the runners on base, may take as
many bases as possible until the ball is returned to the interior infield or
until the play is deemed complete as determined by the umpire (see overthrow
rule). When an umpire, manager, or
coach, except the one pitching, standing in fair territory is hit by a batted
ball, play will be considered dead and will be replayed. The pitch will not be counted as a pitched
ball. Coaches must attempt to get out
of the way of batted balls in fair territory.
Base runners struck by a batted ball in fair territory will be called
out and play will be considered dead.
All other runners may go to the base they were headed for but advance no
farther.
BASE STEALING & LEAD-OFFS: A player may
not steal or lead-off. A player leading
off or leaving a base before a ball is batted will be warned and required to
return to the proper base. After this
first warning, (one player per team per game) any subsequent violation of this
rule by any player on the warned team(s) will result in the player being called
out.
ASSISTANCE: A manager/coach may NOT physically assist a
player in running the bases. If a coach
is deemed to have given physical assistance by the umpire, the play will stop
and the ball declared dead. The
assisted base runner will be called out and all other runner’s positions will
be determined by the umpire when the play was called dead.
DEFENSE
Two coaches may be on the playing field when their team is on defense. The purpose for this is to help position players and give instructions. A manager/coach may not assist a player in catching or throwing while a play is in progress. If this type of assistance is observed, the umpire will stop play and the ball will be declared dead. All the base runners will be called safe and placed on the base determined by the umpire when the play was called dead, plus one additional base. Baselines may not be obstructed by any defensive player or coach. (If a team would like to have more than two adults in the field, this must be agreed upon at the plate meeting prior to the start of the game. No maximum number to be set)
UNASSISTED OUTS: A defensive player may NOT make an unassisted out UNLESS it is a logical baseball play. All fielders must make a throw when it is logical play. This applies to all positions so that the children may learn the proper technique of the sport. When an umpire declares that an illogical play has occurred, all play will stop, the ball will be declared dead, and all base runners called safe and entitled to the base determined by the umpire.
SUBSTITUTION: Free substitution is permitted for all fielding positions. Substitutions should be made between innings. It is encouraged that all players be given the opportunity to play several different positions during the game. A player may NOT play more than two (2) innings in one position per game.
PITCHER: The player playing the pitching position
must be even with or behind the coach doing the pitching or at the pitcher’s
rubber when the batting tee is being used.
CATCHER: A coach will perform the duties of catching to speed the game along. The defensive team has the option of fielding a catcher. If a catcher is fielded, the player must be outfitted with the protective catcher’s equipment and the catcher must stand behind the coach (catching) for the player’s safety. For plays at the plate, the defensive team must provide a catcher to cover the plate. For the speed of the game, an inning may begin prior to a player being outfitted with the protective catching equipment. In the event a catcher is not fielded or outfitted, on a ball hit on the infield, the runner advancing from third base will be awarded a free base (home). In the event a catcher is not fielded or outfitted, on a ball hit into the outfield, another infielder may cover home plate. Unassisted outs at home plate will NOT be allowed.
INFIELDER’S POSITIONS: All infielder’s, except the pitcher, must be positioned a minimum of fifty feet from home plate before a play may begin. This is for the players’ safety.
OUTFIELDER’S POSITIONS: All outfielders must be positioned beyond the infield at the start of play.
INFIELD FLY: The infield fly rule is waived.
UMPIRES
A tee-ball umpire in addition to enforcing the rules previously mentioned, will:
· Start the game when scheduled
· Call time, when appropriate, when requested to do so by a manager, coach, or player. Required time-outs will not be allowed when used as a stalling tactic.
·
Determine a base
runner’s position when the play is called dead.
·
Allow a team one warning
per game for an intentionally thrown bat.
Any player on that team who throws a bat after the first team warning
will be called out and the base runners will not be allowed to advance.
· Eject any player, manager, coach, parent, or by-stander for use of abusive and or foul language from the game and the general playing area.
·
An umpire can call or
postpone a game for weather and/or poor visibility.
DEFINITION OF RULES
OVER THROW RULE: A live ball is declared dead when a logical baseball play is attempted by the defense and the result of the attempt is an overthrow. An infielder’s or outfielder’s throw must be in the direction of a base or the infield and be a logical baseball play to be considered an overthrow under this rule. The ball will be declared dead when it lands in the area defined as the interior infield. The interior infield is defined as the area within straight lines drawn from each base. When an overthrow is called by an umpire, play will stop and the dead ball rule will apply. Failure to throw to a base or to the interior infield to conclude a logical play results in a live ball and play is allowed to continue. There will be no advancement on overthrows.
DEAD BALL RULE: The ball becomes dead at the time of a declared overthrow or other infraction that causes the umpire to declare dead ball. A ball that goes out of the playing area during a logical baseball play is considered a dead ball.
INFIELD FLY RULE: The infield fly rule is
waived.
PROTESTS: There shall be no protests in T-Ball.
FORFEITS: Forfeits occur when less than six players
per team are present.
ANY RULE NOT STATED HERE WILL BE DETERMINED BY THE
KHOURY LEAGUE BOOK OF RULES AND THE NATIONAL BASEBALL RULES. (NATIONAL LEAGUE
RULES)..
DEFINITIONS:
Interior infield: The portion of the infield located
inside of the diamond formed by the base paths.