2023 MINUTEMAN BASEBALL LEAGUE RULES

                                         Rev. 3/10/2023

Table of Contents

1.0        Sportsmanship.. 1

2.0        Eligible Players. 2

3.0        Playing Rules. 2

4.0        Pitching Rules. 5

5.0        Equipment. 7

6.0        Umpires. 7

7.0        Insurance.. 8

8.0        Weather & Field Condition Notification/ Make-Up Games. 8

9.0        Reporting of Game Results. 9

10.0      Spring Season Rounds of Play and Post-season Playoff Schedules. 10

11.0      Summer League Special Rules. 10

The Minuteman Baseball League is comprised of the Minuteman League and Summer League with player eligibility as defined in these rules.  The rules set forth below will apply to all leagues unless specifically noted.

Any changes to the rules after printing will be available on www.mmbrl.com.

1.0    Sportsmanship

Good sportsmanship shall be expected of coaches, players, and parents at all times. Unacceptable behavior includes but is not limited to the taunting of opposing players, the use of profanity, demonstrative actions, or statements in response to an umpire’s call, and the throwing or slamming of equipment.

1. 1  Any communications with an umpire regarding calls or rule interpretations shall be initiated only by a team’s manager or acting manager and such interactions shall occur in a civilized, sportsmanlike manner. Coaches, players, and spectators shall refrain from initiating such discussions.
2. 2  A player, coach or spectator ejected from a game by an umpire will not be allowed to participate or appear at the next game for that team. The Coach of the opposing team of the player, coach or spectator ejected is required to notify their Town Director immediately after the game when such an ejection occurs. It is the Town Director’s responsibility to promptly notify the other Town Director to ensure compliance with this rule.  The League President/co-Presidents may at their discretion add additional game suspensions if there is a serious violation by a player or manager.

2.0    Eligible Players

Boys and girls living in the participating towns and born between May 1, 2006 and April 30, 2010 are eligible to play in the Minuteman League during the spring 2023 season. Players who are 15 years old on April 30^th of the current year are considered 15-year-olds for purposes of the league and its rules. Players who are 14 years old on April 30^th of the current year are considered 14-year-olds for purposes of the league and its rules. Players who are 13 years old on April 30^th of the current year are considered 13-year-olds for purposes of the league and its rules. Each Minuteman Spring League’s team roster may include two players age 16 years old as of April 30^th of the current year and are NOT playing high school or AAU baseball. Under no circumstances will any player born prior to May 1, 2006 be allowed to participate. A player born after April 30, 2010 will be allowed to participate if he is not playing for his town’s small diamond (Little League equivalent) program and if he is eligible to participate in his town’s Babe Ruth League-level big diamond program by virtue of his school grade level or town league policy. Any such player will be listed on his team’s roster as a 12-year-old.

3.0    Playing Rules

The playing rules are those outlined in the Babe Ruth League baseball rulebook of the national Babe Ruth organization, as supplemented by these rules, shall be the sole method of play.

3.1 Teams will consist of no fewer than 12 rostered players, WITH EVERY EFFORT MADE TO EQUALIZE TALENT AMONG THE TEAMS CREATED WITHIN EACH TOWN'S ORGANIZATION. Our objective is to maximize playing opportunities while not keeping rosters so small that forfeits are likely. Roster changes will be allowed throughout the season; however, a team’s Spring post-season playoff roster is limited to the players listed on the posted website roster prior to the 9^th scheduled game of the Minuteman Spring season.  Each Town Director is responsible for updating the website with roster changes for his town’s teams prior to the next affected games, and he is responsible generally for making certain that website roster information is current and accurate.

1. 2  All players present at a game will bat in a continuous rotation (for example, a 13-man batting order is used if 13 players are present). Anyone arriving late will be slotted into the final spot in the order. Every player must play at least 3 innings in the field except for late arriving players (after the 2^nd inning). No player shall sit out more than 2 innings in a row defensively. The batting and minimum fielding requirements shall apply to all players available to participate for each team at the time the home team takes the field to start a game. If a player’s injury prevents him from being able to bat, throw or field effectively, that player shall be removed from the lineup.  If a player is able to play in the field but not able to hit due to injury, that player shall be removed from the lineup.  If a player is able to hit but not able to throw due to injury, that player shall be removed from the lineup. If a player listed in the original lineup is removed from the batting order due to injury, ejection, or early departure, that player shall not re-enter the game as either a batter or a fielder, and his spot in the lineup shall be skipped with no penalty involved.
2. 3  A minimum of 8 players is required to begin and continue a game. A team playing with 8 players will not be penalized in any way (for example, no automatic out for the “empty” lineup slot) regardless of the circumstances creating the situation.
3. 4  No new inning shall begin more than 2 hours and 15 minutes after the actual (as opposed to scheduled) starting time of the game. Any game stopped due to this rule shall be considered a complete regulation game, regardless of the number of innings completed. Extra-inning games may exceed this time limitation, but only if there is no succeeding game scheduled to be played on the same field.
4. 5  Mercy Rules
    
5. 5.1 In the Minuteman SPRING League only, a mercy rule of 6 runs per half-inning shall be in force (except in the last agreed upon inning) for the full season, excluding the playoffs.
6. 5.2 In the Minuteman SPRING League only, in the last agreed upon inning there will be no run limits.  If a team is trailing by more than 5 or 6 runs respectfully, they have a chance in coming back in a game.  If a visiting team comes up and goes ahead, but darkness becomes an issue.  The game does go back the previous inning score and is counted as a complete game
7. 6 Alternate Player Rule

1. 6.1 Minuteman League: If a team does not have enough players for any regular season game, the team may add up to 4 alternate players who are rostered on another Minuteman team from their town.  Any alternate player must bat last or no greater than 10^th in the batting order.  If there are more than one alternate players, they must bat in age order (youngest to oldest) at the end of the lineup.   If 11 or more non-alternate players show up for a game, no alternate players can play.    If a non-alternate player shows up late to a game, then any alternate player that is batting in the 10th position must be removed from the game and the non-alternate player is inserted into the lineup prior to any alternate players.  An alternate player may play any position EXCEPT pitcher.  If a manager or coach is using an alternate player for a game, he/she must inform the other manager/coach prior to the game of the name and age of the alternate player(s) and on which team(s) the alternate player(s) are rostered.

3.6.2      If a playoff game is stopped before it becomes an official game, (rain or darkness) it shall be resumed from its point of discontinuance the following day weather permitting and played until a winner is declared.  If a team cannot field a team the following day, then they may use the alternate player rule. If a team does use the alternate player rule for a playoff game, then the team will only be allowed to field 10 players and the alternate players will not be allowed to pitch and will bat at the bottom of the batting order.

3.7  If a game is suspended by umpire’s decision before becoming an official game, it shall be resumed from its point of discontinuance and played to a regulation conclusion. A regulation game ending in a tie shall be considered an official game and not resumed at a later date, except for any post-season playoff game, which shall be continued to a conclusion from its point of discontinuance. In situations not specifically covered by this Rule 3.7, the Babe Ruth Baseball rulebook shall govern.

1. 8 The “force-play slide rule” as adopted by the MIAA shall be in effect.  This is the NCAA Force-Play-Slide Rule (Rule 8, Section 4).  Below is a copy of that rule.  Force-Play-Slide Rule (NCAA Baseball Rule 8 Section 4 - adopted by MIAA)

SECTION 4. The intent of the force-play-slide rule is to ensure the safety of all players. This is a safety as well as an interference rule. Whether the defense could have completed the double play has no bearing on the applicability of this rule. This rule pertains to a force-play situation at any base, regardless of the number of outs.

a. On any force play, the runner must slide on the ground before the base and in a direct line between the two bases. It is permissible for the slider’s momentum to carry him through the base in the baseline extended (see diagram).

Exception—A runner need not slide directly into a base as long as the runner slides or runs in a direction away from the fielder to avoid making contact or altering the play of the fielder. Interference shall not be called.

(1) “On the ground” means either a head-first slide or a slide with one leg and buttock on the ground before the base.

(2) “Directly into a base” means the runner’s entire body (feet, legs, trunk and arms) must stay in a straight line between the bases.

b. Contact with a fielder is legal and interference shall not be called if the runner makes a legal slide directly to the base and in the baseline extended (see diagram).

A.R.—If contact occurs on top of the base as a result of a “pop-up” slide, this contact is legal.
c. Actions by a runner are illegal and interference shall be called if:

(1) The runner slides or runs out of the base line in the direction of the fielder and alters the play of a fielder (with or without contact).

(2) The runner uses a rolling or cross-body slide and either makes contact with or alters the play of a fielder.

(3) The runner’s raised leg makes contact higher than the fielder’s knee when in a standing position.

(4) The runner slashes or kicks the fielder with either leg; or

(5) The runner illegally slides toward or contacts the fielder even if the fielder makes no attempt to throw to complete a play.

PENALTY for 1-5— (1) With less than two outs, the batter-runner, as well as the interfering runner, shall be declared out and no other runner(s) shall advance.

(2) With two outs, the interfering runner shall be declared out and no other runner(s) shall advance.

(3) If the runner’s slide or collision is flagrant, the runner shall be ejected from the contest.
A.R.—If the bases are loaded with no outs, a double-play attempt is made, and interference is called, all other runners must return to their original bases.

1. 9  Either adults or players may be used as base coaches, but all players acting as coaches must wear a batting helmet.
2. 10 The Major League Baseball Rule 7.13 On Home Plate Collisions as adopted by the MIAA shall be in effect and enforced by the umpires.

4.0    Pitching Rules

The basic pitching rules are those outlined in the Babe Ruth Baseball rules, except for the following modifications:

1. 1 The pitching week is Friday – Thursday.
2. 2 No 13- or 14-year-old player may pitch more than 7 innings in regular season games played during their pitching week. Also, If a team plays a Friday night game due to an odd number of teams in the league, and that team’s next game is on Sunday.  These games (Friday and Sunday) will be considered back-to-back for pitching purposes.
3. 3  A 13- or 14-year-old player may pitch a maximum of 9 innings per their pitching week including the Minuteman League, in-town leagues, and school programs.
4. 4 For the spring and summer seasons, we follow the MIAA pitch count rule for sub varsity players for the 13 and 14 year old players. 13- and 14-year-old pitchers’ days of rest are determined by pitches thrown in a game. Please follow the below chart to determine how many days rest your pitcher will need after being removed from a game.  

Maximum Pitches Per Day – 95 pitches

      Breakpoints & Required Rest

1‐25 pitches 0 days rest

26‐40 pitches 1 day’s rest

41‐55 pitches 2 days rest

56‐70 pitches 3 days rest

71‐95 pitches 4 days rest

*These rules apply to both regular and post season play.

*If a pitcher has thrown 71‐90 pitches on the day he last pitched, on his fourth day of rest, he would be eligible to throw a maximum of 25 pitches.

*Coaches or their designee confirm pitch counts after every 2 innings and at the conclusion of the game. In the case of a dispute the home team has the official count.

1. 5 The total number of combined innings pitched by all 15-year-olds on a team in one game shall not exceed four (4), as measured by Rule 4.7. Additionally, the total of all innings pitched by all 15-year-olds on a team cannot exceed 8 innings in any single pitching week.
2. 6 Each spring team’s roster may include as many as two players age 16 years old as defined in Rule 2.0. These players are not allowed to pitch. The intention of this rule is to provide an opportunity for players of this age who are not chosen to play on a town’s high school team.

Some examples of using 15-year-old pitchers

1. 7 Throwing one pitch during an inning (not including warm-ups) constitutes one inning pitched. Thus, more than one pitcher may be charged with an inning pitched for the same inning. A player must be removed as a pitcher for the remainder of a game after hitting three batters in the same game.
2. 8 The standard balk rules shall be enforced at all times against 14- and 15-year-old pitchers. Each 13-year-old pitcher will be allowed one balk warning per game before the standard balk rules are enforced. Balk rules will be enforced against pitchers of all ages during the post-season playoffs.
3. 9 After a player has been removed as a pitcher, he cannot return to pitch again in the same game.

5.0    Equipment

1. 1 Each team will provide its own batting and catching equipment.
2. 2 The home team will make sure bases are in place and will provide three game balls (official Babe Ruth League balls or comparable), regardless of game location.
3. 3 It is highly recommended that all adult base coaches and mandatory for all player base coaches to wear a protective helmet while performing their duties.
4. 4 The Babe Ruth League, Inc. Bat Requirement for 13 - 15 shall apply to all Minuteman Baseball Leagues (Patriot, Minuteman, Summer, etc.). All non-wood bats must have the USA Bat Marking or marked BBCOR .50.  Barrel - 2 5/8 .  Each manager will be responsible for enforcement of this rule among his/her players. The penalty for illegal bat use will be as follows:
   1. If the illegal bat is identified and replaced before an at-bat has concluded, there is no penalty.
   2. If the illegal bat is identified after an at-bat has concluded but before a pitch has been thrown to the following batter, the batter using the illegal bat shall be declared out, and all baserunners shall be returned to the bases they occupied prior to the final pitch.
   3. If the illegal bat is identified after the at-bat has concluded and after a pitch has been thrown to the following batter, the result of the at-bat stands.               

6.0    Umpires

1. 1 Each Town Director is responsible for booking umpires for all regular season and playoff games scheduled to be played in their town, regardless of which teams are competing, unless special alternative arrangements have been made.
2. 2 Each Town Director is responsible for prompt payment to umpires he has booked for the regular season games played in his town and for any regular season home games of his town’s teams that might need to be scheduled elsewhere. Each team participating in a playoff game shall be prepared to pay one-half the total umpire expenses of that game directly to the umpire(s) at the pre-game meeting, regardless of where the game is played.
3. 3 One umpire stationed behind home plate is a minimum standard.  The Minuteman Baseball League recommends two umpires for the Minuteman Division, Summer Minuteman Division, Fall Minuteman Division and Fall High School Division regular season games and ALL playoff games at ALL levels.  Every effort should be made to utilize certified umpires in appropriate umpiring attire. The use of coaches and parents should be avoided unless a scheduled umpire fails to appear, in which case the opposing coaches should agree on the use of the best available umpire-substitutes so that the players will have the opportunity to play baseball, rather than endure a forfeit.

7.0    Insurance

1. 1 Each town program is responsible for providing liability and excess medical insurance.

8.0    Weather & Field Condition Notification/ Make-Up Games

1. 1  It shall be the responsibility of the Town Director in each town to monitor weather and field conditions as they affect games scheduled to be played in his town. He shall notify coaches of all affected teams no later than two hours before scheduled game time if there are any doubts about playability. Similarly, he is responsible for notifying the Umpire Coordinator and the umpires scheduled to handle those games. This communication will avoid unnecessary trips and will allow for field switching in the event that a scheduled field is unplayable, but an unscheduled field is useable.
2. 2  With many fields available to us throughout the towns involved, our goal should be to avoid the need for make-up games by utilizing alternative fields (even in other league towns) at the scheduled game time or the scheduled field at an earlier or later game time on the scheduled day. Umpires should be informed of any field or time changes with as much advance notice as possible.
3. 3  If a game needs to be postponed for reasons other than weather or field conditions (e.g., advance knowledge of a team’s inability to field 8 or more players), the manager of a team unable to play a game at its scheduled time and place must notify the opposing team’s manager, the Umpire Coordinator, and his own Town Director at least 48 hours prior to the scheduled game time. If he does not, his team will be charged with a forfeit, the game will not be rescheduled for playing, and he will be responsible for paying any umpire expenses.

8.4    Any game appropriately postponed (under Rule 8.3 or because of weather or field conditions) shall be played at an agreed to time by both teams, such as:

1. Moving the game to a different, playable field at the originally scheduled time (see 8.2 above).
2. Playing a double header on a different, playable field.
3. Using a weeknight with the fewest conflicts. This arrangement may be more feasible after school sports conclude (around June 1) or for games between teams from the same town.

8.5 The Town Directors of the involved towns must be kept informed of all rescheduling plans and must give final approval. If no rescheduling arrangements can be made for a game postponed under Rule 8.3, the game shall be considered a forfeit in favor of the team originally willing and able to play at the scheduled time.

9.0    Reporting of Game Results

1. 1  After each game, each team's manager/coach is responsible for reporting the final score and pitcher utilization for its team according to procedures discussed at the managers' meeting. Results should be reported by 11:00 p.m. the same evening as the game. The appropriate method of reporting is the league website. If the website is inoperative for some reason, game information may be e-mailed to the website administrator and league president.
2. 2  A manager reporting through the website shall follow the instructions given there for appropriate submission. The information required in a game report submission, whether via the website or e-mail, is as follows:
   1. Final score showing both team names.
   2. Date the game was played.
   3. Pitchers for the winning team, listed with names, ages, number of pitches thrown and for 15 -year-old pitchers the number of innings pitched by each. (Remember that one pitch thrown in an inning constitutes an inning pitched for that pitcher.)
   4. Pitchers for the losing team listed with names, ages, number of pitches thrown and for 15- and 16-year-old pitchers the number of innings pitched by each. (Remember that one pitch thrown in an inning constitutes an inning pitched for that pitcher.)
   5. Name of the person entering the report and the best way to make follow-up contact, if needed (e-mail address or phone # is automatically added in the web site entry).
3. 3  Standings and other game-related information is available on the web site as soon as the game results are entered.

10.0                Spring Season Rounds of Play and Post-season Playoff Schedules

10.1 The Minuteman Spring League will play two rounds of games with a post season playoff. After a round of 6 games the teams will be regrouped in an attempt to schedule games against teams of comparable ability.  Minuteman League games are primarily scheduled for Saturday and Sunday

10.2  All teams are eligible to participate in the post-season playoffs. Any team choosing not to participate should inform its Town Director no later than the Monday prior to the scheduled start of playoffs. As much as possible, seeding shall be made based on Minuteman League second-round divisional placement. Additional details regarding playoff format will be determined by the Directors and disseminated to all teams in a timely fashion.

10.3  All pitching rules under Rule 4.0 shall be in force during the playoffs.

10.4  Seeding for playoff positions shall be by points earned in Round 2.  In case of ties, the tie breaker sequence is (1) head-to-head, (2) least runs allowed per game overall, (3) most runs scored per game overall.  The tie breakers are used in order to seed ONE team at a time.  Each time a tie is broken to seed one team, leaving a tie between two or more teams, the situation reverts to criteria #1 (head-to-head results).

10.5 The Directors may publish additional rules to govern the playoffs, as they deem necessary.

11.0                Summer League Special Rules

11.1  All Minuteman Spring League rules shall apply to the Summer League, with the FOLLOWING MODIFICATIONS:

11.2  Each summer team’s roster must be posted to the website prior to the first day of scheduled summer league play. Each team is encouraged to roster 20 players. No player may be rostered on more than one summer team in the Minuteman Summer League, but to avoid forfeits, roster flexibility among a town’s teams will be allowed, with coaches strongly encouraged to share this information with each other prior to game-time. A team’s playoff roster is limited, however, to the players listed on the posted website roster prior to the 9^th scheduled game of the Minuteman Summer season.

11.3  To be eligible for the Summer Minuteman League a player must not only meet the Minuteman Spring requirements but must have played on the big diamond in the spring.  The Summer Minuteman League is not a step-up league for 12-year-old players.  Each summer team’s roster may include as many as three players age 16 years old as defined in Rule 2.0. These players are not allowed to pitch. The intention of this rule is to provide an opportunity for players of this age who are not chosen to play in a town’s summer all-star travel program.

11.4 The pitching week in summer league play shall be defined as Monday through Sunday.

11.5  The summer schedule shall be a round robin schedule.

11.6  The summer playoff format shall be single elimination.

Mercy Rule 3.5 of the Minuteman Spring League is NOT in effect in the Minuteman Summer League. A TWELVE (12) run mercy rule shall be in effect for the Minuteman Summer League. The umpire shall stop the game once it becomes official (4 ½ innings if the home team is ahead or 5 innings if the home team is behind) if one (1) team is ahead by twelve (12) runs (or more) and has had equal time at bat (by innings).