Frequently asked questions about Little League or Local Rules and Regulations
Have you been puzzling over some aspect of the game? See below for some common questions and answers.
If you have a question of your own send it to our Umpire In Chief, Pat Ryan he will try to get back to you soon. You may even find your question showing up here.
T-Ball — Game Length
T-Ball games do NOT have a time limit. They consist of 3 innings. An inning is defined as each team has all of their players batting once in their half of the inning. So the game lasts as long as it takes for both teams to have the entire lineup bat 3 times.
Usually this takes about an hour but sometimes lasts longer. Other teams following the T-Ball teams need to be patient and wait for the T-Ball game to finish. T-Ball teams should try to keep things moving along, which helps keep the kids participating interested and allows the following games to start close to their scheduled time.
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A-Ball & AA-Ball — Batting Order & Substitutions
Every player is included in the batting order in the same location (e.g. always batting 7th) for the entire game whether they are currently playing on defense or not. By the end of the game each player must have batted at least one time AND played in the field for a minimum of six (6) defensive outs. There is free substitution on defense, but by the end of the game every player must play in the field at least six (6) outs. This should be easy to do since you can substitute multiple times. There is no limit to the number of times that a player may re-enter the game at this level.
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AAA-Ball — Pitching
If the pitcher pitches 1 to 20 pitches — he/she may pitch again the next day.
If the pitcher pitches 21 to 40 pitches — one full calendar day of rest is required before pitching again. If a player pitches 21 pitches on Saturday, then he/she may not pitch again until Monday.
If the pitcher pitches 41 to 60 pitches — two full calendar days of rest is required before pitching again. If a player pitches 41 pitches on Saturday, then he/she may not pitch again until Tuesday.
If the pitcher pitches 61 to 75 pitches — three full calendar days of rest is required before pitching again. If a player pitches 61 pitches on Saturday, then he/she may not pitch again until Wednesday.
A pitcher may pitch a maximum of 75 pitches in a day (see Local Rules).
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AAA-Ball — Batting Order & Substitutions
Every player is included in the batting order for the entire game. However, there is NOT free substitution on defense. The defensive substitutions are governed by Rule 3.03. Only a starter may re-enter the game. A starter can be removed for a substitute at any time (after one pitch or after eleven outs). However, the starter may not re-enter the game on defense until his/her substitute has played at least six (6) consecutive outs, even if the starter is coming back into the game and replacing a player other than the player who came in for him/her. Any player entering the game after it begins is a substitute. Thus a starter re-entering the game is also a substitute.
Example: Billy is on the home team and starts the game at 3rd base. In the top of the second inning he is replaced by Joe. Billy can not re-enter the game until Joe has played six (6) defensive outs. If Joe is injured or replaced by another player prior to playing six defensive outs then Billy can NOT re-enter the game at all. This is because his substitute (Joe) did not fulfill the requirements of Rule 3.03. Note that this is true for Major Baseball also.
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Major Baseball — Pitching
If the pitcher pitches 1 to 20 pitches — he/she may pitch again the next day.
If the pitcher pitches 21 to 40 pitches — one full calendar day of rest is required before pitching again. If a player pitches 21 pitches on Saturday, then he/she may not pitch again until Monday.
If the pitcher pitches 41 to 60 pitches — two full calendar days of rest is required before pitching again. If a player pitches 41 pitches on Saturday, then he/she may not pitch again until Tuesday.
If the pitcher pitches 61 to 85 pitches — three full calendar days of rest is required before pitching again. If a player pitches 61 pitches on Saturday, then he/she may not pitch again until Wednesday.
A pitcher may pitch a maximum of 85 pitches in a day.
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All Levels — Mandatory Play
Every player must fulfill the mandatory play requirements by the end of the game. See Regulation IV (i). Just because the game does not last six full innings does not relieve the manager of the responsibility to ensure that all players bat at least one time and play defensively for six outs. Any player who does not bat one time and play defensively for six outs must start the next game, play the remainder of the minimum missed in the previous game plus the additional minimum (bat once and play six defensive outs) for the current game before being removed for a substitute.
The requirement that a player start the next game is not waived even if the game is shortened due to weather, daylight, time limit, 10-run rule, etc. There is an escalating penalty for a manager who fails to get the kids into the game. For repeated violations the manager will be removed from the program. See Regulation IV (i).
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All Levels — Must Slide
Question: Isn’t there a “must slide” rule at home plate?
Answer: No, there is no such thing. In fact, the number one cause of injury in Little League is from sliding. See Rule 7.08 (a) (3). What the rule says is that the runner is out IF the defensive player has the ball AND is waiting to make a tag on the runner, then the runner must slide OR attempt to avoid the tag. The key here is that the defensive player must both have the ball and be waiting to make the tag. Just because the ball is on the way, that is not enough to require the base runner to alter course.
“This is great! I’ll just have my runners run right through the fielders if they don’t have the ball in their possession.” Not a good idea. This kind of behavior is likely to get the player and quite probably the manager ejected from the ball game for unsportsmanlike conduct. Malicious or dangerous behavior is not permitted at any time. If the fielder doesn’t have the ball and is in the way of the runner then the fielder may be obstructing the runner and there is a rule for that. It also may be interference on the part of the base runner and there is a rule for that too.
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All Levels — Interference? Obstruction? Nothing?
Quite often during the game there is a runner and a fielder (and sometimes the ball) all in the same place at the same time. Who must make way for whom? This is actually quite straight forward but is very often misunderstood. Let’s look at interference and obstruction.
Interference: See Rule 2.00 Interference (a) and Rule 7.09 (l). The basic principle is that on a batted ball the base runners must not hinder or impede a fielder trying to field the ball. If the umpire judges that the base runner in any way hindered, confused, or prevented a fielder from making a play on a batted ball then the runner is guilty of interference. The ball is dead. The runner is out and no other runners advance (they are returned to the bases they occupied at the time of the pitch, or as close to that base as possible). The runner does not have to touch the fielder to be charged with interference nor does the interference have to be intentional. This is most often seen when the runner takes off from first or second and runs near a fielder who is trying to field a hot hit ball.
Obstruction: See Rule 2.00 Obstruction and Rule 7.06. For any play other than when a fielder is making a play on a batted ball, the fielders must not impede the runners. Rule 2.00 states
Obstruction is the act of a fielder who, while not in possession of the ball, impedes the progress of any runner. A fake tag is considered obstruction. (Note: Obstruction shall be called on a defensive player who blocks off a base, base line or home plate from a base runner while not in possession of the ball.)
So if the fielder is not fielding a batted ball and doesn’t have possession of the ball, he/she better not impede the progress of the runner.
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All Levels — Out at First
Rule 7.08 (c) says that a runner is out when
"that runner is tagged, when the ball is alive, while off a base; EXCEPTION: A batter-runner cannot be tagged out after overrunning or oversliding first base if said batter-runner returns immediately to the base."
Note that there is no mention about whether the batter-runner turns into fair or foul territory. As long as the batter-runner returns immediately to first base he/she is not liable to be tagged out. However, if the batter-runner makes any attempt to go to second base, then he/she is liable to be tagged out. It is the judgment of the umpire whether or not the batter-runner made an attempt to advance to second base.
What is an attempt to advance? Any kind of feint toward second base to try and draw a throw; taking a few steps toward second because of an overthrow at first base with the base coach hollering "Go to second"; or rounding first and taking more than a few steps toward second base before deciding to return to first base could all be construed to be an attempt to advance.
So remember that it doesn't matter which direction the batter-runner turns after passing first base. He/she is not liable to be put out (even on a walk) as long as he/she returns immediately to first base. If, in the umpire's judgment, the batter-runner makes any attempt to advance, then he/she may be tagged out while off the base.
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