NEWMARKET BASEBALL ASSOCIATION
HOUSE LEAGUE RULES
MIDGET DIVISION
2016
Midget InterLock Rules 2016 season
Imperial Measurements shall apply
1. The official start time for all games shall be a pre-set scheduled time. No new
inning shall begin after one hour & 45 minutes (1:45). Dead Ball shall be after
two (2) hours of play. The umpire or his designate shall be the official
timekeeper.
2. Standard Rules of Baseball shall apply unless otherwise stated. The
maximum age for players at this level is eighteen (18) years of age.
3. A team with fewer than seven (7) players after a fifteen (15) minute Grace
Period from the scheduled start time shall forfeit that game. If neither team is
able to field the minimum number of players, both teams shall forfeit the game.
4. All games shall be seven (7) innings long, and all innings are open. Three and
one half (31/2) innings with the home team leading, shall constitute a game in
the event of Dead Ball time or adverse weather conditions. In the event of a
curfew or suspended game, the final score will revert back to the last complete
inning. When curfew is called, the current batter shall be allowed to complete his
at bat. Mercy Rule: Should a team be leading by ten (10) runs after five (5)
innings, they shall be awarded the win.
5. Only wooden, composite wood or bamboo bats shall be allowed on the field,
that of the batter and the on-deck batter but, must be approved by the game
umpire. Metal bats including composite bats, and playerʼs shoes with metal
cleats are not permitted. Players shall not wear any visible jewellery except
medic alerts. A pitcher who wears a medic alert bracelet should wear is on
his/her non pitching wrist.
6. All players shall wear the same uniform, that is, regulation baseball pants,
sponsor coloured shirt and matching hat. All batters and runners shall wear a
helmet. Catchers shall wear full protective equipment behind the plate. Any
person warming up a teams pitcher shall wear a protective mask. All players
are allowed to wear sunglasses.
7. A maximum of three (3) players may be called up from a lower house league
team but not from another team in the same division. These players shall not
have priority playing time over regular team players or be allowed to pitch.
8. There are no restrictions on which positions players must play during a game.
9. Players shall bat in their proper rotation and the batting order cannot change
after the game starts. Players who arrive late must be added to the bottom of
the batting order. For all play-off games, once a player has missed batting for
the 2nd time, they will not be permitted to bat in that game.
10. Pitchers are allowed to pitch for twelve (12) consecutive outs. Pitchers can
be changed at any time during the course of the game or inning; however, once
a pitcher is removed from the mound he may not pitch in that game again. New
pitchers are permitted five (5) warm-up pitches to start the game and three (3)
warm-up pitches after that. Players can catch for only 4 innings. Balks shall be
called without warning.
11. Teams will be permitted two (2) visits to the mound per inning to confer with
their pitcher. The third (3rd) such visit shall result in the pitcher being removed
from the mound. A mound visit shall occur when any team member crosses the
foul line, has communication with the pitcher or causes play to be delayed.
12. Pre-game infield warm ups are not permitted
13. With two (2) outs and the catcher on base, he shall be replaced by the last
player called out.
14. There is no “A Runner Must Slide” rule. Runners are therefore instructed to
slide to avoid contact. If contact does occurs, only the umpire shall have
authority to interprete and enforce the Malicious Contact Rule.
15. If there is an injured player, the following shall apply:
a) If a player becomes injured during the game, a coach must state this prior to
the start of that teamʼs offensive inning.
b) If the injury occurs during the at bat, then the next batter will take over with
the same count.
c) If the injured player is unable to bat at all, then the offensive team will skip
over that player without an out being registered and the batting order would
continue from that point.
d) An injured player would then be out of the rest of the game and would not be
allowed to play.
16. Playoff standing in the case of a tie after regular season shall be determined
by “Runs For minus Runs Against” with the team with the higher number being
awarded the higher position. ie: Runs For 120, Runs Against 70, Result plus 50.
If teams still tied a coin toss will determine the higher position.
Paragraph #17: Add: All playoff games will follow Rule #1 and 4 for game times
and length. Only Championship Finals will be 7 complete Innings with the Mercy
Rule still in effect.
17. ELECTRONIC DEVICES: The use and possession of electronic devices on
the playing field is now prohibited by all participants. This includes players,
coaches, managers and umpires. Umpires will ask players, coaches or
managers to immediately remove electronic devices from the playing field.
Failure to do so will result in ejection. Electronic devices include Mobile Phones,
PDA, Pagers, Tablets, Laptops, Smart Watches and Fitbits. Only Dedicated
watches or stopwatches and electronic pitch counters are permitted. It is a
safety issue that all participants on the field of play are focused during a game.
18. Bench Restriction Rule: In 2016, Baseball Ontario has introduced a new
tool for umpires to assist with game management, The Bench Restriction. This
allows the umpire to restrict a coach or manager to their bench for the remainder
of the game when they commit a minor violation. The coach or manager is
allowed to remain in the game but is not allowed to enter the filed of play except
to assist with an injured player The coach/manager is not allowed to argue, yell
or speak to the umpire, if they do they will be ejected from the game. The umpire
has the sole discretion of whether a violation is minor or major and whether to
use the Bench Restriction Rule.