CAYUGA COUNTY BABE RUTH LEAGUE
LEAGUE RULES FOR 2009
ADOPTED MAY 21, 2009
I.
GENERAL RULES
1. The Cayuga County Babe Ruth League plays high school rules as per the New York
State Public High School Athletic Association rule book during the regular season.
During tournament play or league playoffs, only Babe Ruth Rules are followed. Any
exceptions to High School rules during regular season will be noted below.
II.
TEAM ROSTERS
1. Roster requirements without Prep League: Each team shall consist of a maximum of
fifteen (15) players with a minimum of twelve (12) players, one (1) manager and two
(2) coaches. Each team shall include a minimum of three (3) thirteen-year-old players
and no more than 5 fifteen-year-old players on their roster.
2. Roster requirements with Prep League: If the CCBRL registers at minimum of a four
(4) team Prep League which takes in thirteen-year-old players, each 13-15 year-old
team (otherwise noted as the “A” League) shall consist of no more than eight (8)
fifteen-year-old players. The remaining seven (7) players would be either fourteen (14)
or thirteen (13) year-olds. Thirteen (13) year-old players listed on an “A” League roster
may also participate in the Prep League at the discretion of the local League (CCBRL)
3. Player eligibility is determined as follows: ages are thirteen (13) through fifteen (15)
years. Any player who turns thirteen (13) on or before April 30 of any current year, and
is less than sixteen (16) on April 30 of any current year is eligible to participate in Babe
Ruth League competition.
4. Rosters are due to the League President on or before June 1st. Players may be added to
the roster up to June 30th. An addition to any roster is not considered to be official until
the League President has been notified and confirmed in order to insure insurance
coverage for all players.
III.
PITCHING
1. Pitchers may pitch a maximum of seven (7) innings per calendar week, (Monday
through and including Sunday), unless a starting pitcher has not left the game and the
game is tied at the end of seven (7) innings. In that instance he/she may pitch a total of
nine (9) innings if capable.
2. Once a pitcher is assigned to the mound to warm up for an inning, he/she must throw at
least one (1) pitch. One pitch constitutes one (1) inning pitched.
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3. A pitcher must have two (2) calendar days rest between pitching assignments if he/she
pitches in more than three(3) innings in any one game. Each game in which a pitcher
pitches is considered an assignment.
4. During playoff competition, tournament rules are in effect for all pitching staffs. A
pitcher is allowed to pitch up to nine (9) innings and then must have a one (1) game rest
before being eligible to pitch again.
Example: John Doe pitches four (4) innings in Game 1 and five (5) innings in Game 2.
He may NOT pitch in Game 3, regardless of time lapse between games. He will be
eligible to pitch again in Game 4.
IV.
GAME MANAGEMENT
1. Evening games shall start at 6:00PM. Any team not able to field eight (8) players by
6:00PM is required to forfeit at the choice of the opposing team manager. Managers are
encouraged to make reasonable decisions.
2. Morning games shall start at 10:00AM unless an alternate time is agreed to by both
coaches prior to the day of the game and confirmed by League President. (This is to
insure proper notification of Umpires!)
3. The home team shall supply two (2) new official Babe Ruth approved baseballs for each
game.
4. All games shall consist of seven (7) completed innings, unless the home team is ahead
at the end of 6-1/2 innings. In the event a game is called for any reason before it’s
completion it shall be continued from the point of discontinuation.
5. “Mercy Rule”: A ten (10) run Mercy Rule is in effect. Any regular season game shall
be considered complete if the home team is leading by ten (10) or more runs after 4-1/2
innings are completed, or if either team is leading by ten (10) or more runs after the
completion of any subsequent inning.
6. Make up games are to be rescheduled within seven (7) days. All games are to be made
up and played if at all possible.
7. During the playoffs all games must be completed. If a game is called for any reason the
visiting team must return the next night to complete the game. The game shall continue
from the point of discontinuation, with no line-up changes unless a substitution was
previously listed in the scorebook.
8. Game protests must be indicated to the umpires before the umpires leave the field of
play, and must be filed in writing to the League President within forty-eight (48) hours.
There is a $25.00 filing fee for all protests. The fee will be refunded if your protest is
upheld, and shall be forfeited if your protest is denied.
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V.
BATTING
1. A negative three (-3) ounce bat is the maximum negative bat weight allowed by the
CCBRL.
2. Teams may use either an extra hitter (EH) or a designated hitter (DH) but NOT both in
the same game. Whichever is used in any game shall continue until the completion of
that game.
3. All teams must start with nine (9) players. However, a team may finish with eight
players. If a team is forced to continue with eight (8) players due to an ejection an out
will be recorded for the ejected player.
4. If a double-header is needed, the League President must be notified. All double-header
games shall consist of five (5) innings. Scheduling for umpires must be done through
the League President. Under NO circumstances are coaches, players or parents to call
the umpire assigner.
VI.
UMPIRES
1. Umpire fees shall be paid prior to the start of any game.
2. Umpire fees are as follows: Syracuse umpires shall receive $50.00 each if there are two
(2) umpires, $70.00 each if there is only one (1) umpire. Ithaca umpires shall receive $
each if there are two (2) umpires, $ each if there is only one (1) umpire. If umpires are
not notified within a reasonable time and they arrive at a game location they must be
paid in full.
3. Umpire fees shall be split between both teams. Therefore each team must be prepared to
pay one (1) umpire at each game regardless of whether you are home or away.
4. Once the umpires have been paid and a game begins there is NO refund of umpire fees,
even if a game is called for any reason.
5. The home team shall be responsible for contacting umpires in the event of a
cancellation. The procedure is to call the umpires, the opposing team and the League
President (315-729-8061).
6. All rescheduling of umpires for rescheduled games must be done through the League
President. Under NO circumstances is a coach or manager to call the umpire assigner to
reschedule any game.
VII.
EJECTIONS, ILLEGAL PLAYERS AND INJURED PLAYERS
1. Any player that is ejected from a game must sit out the next game, in uniform and on
the team bench prior to being eligible to play in another game. Both coaches are
responsible for notifying the League President of the disqualified player’s name and
jersey number.
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2. Any coach or manager ejected from a game will receive an automatic suspension from
the team’s next scheduled game. A suspended coach or manager may watch his/her next
game but may not be on the bench an may not participate in any coaching decisions or
activities. If a second ejection occurs, the executive board of the CCBRL may conduct a
hearing by the Executive Committee and, if necessary, may impose further suspension,
up to the removal as a coach or manager if the infraction is deemed serious enough to
warrant such action. Any such action taken by the Board is done so solely at the
discretion of the Executive Committee and is not subject to appeal.
3. Any team that knowingly utilizes an illegal player (such as a player not on the roster or
an overage/underage player) shall forfeit all games up to the date of the infraction. The
team will be placed on probation for one (1) year and will be ineligible to participate in
the playoffs for the year in which the infraction occurs. The offending team must also
apply for re-instatement in the CCBRL. If you register a player, you are responsible for
insuring each player’s eligibility prior to the start of each season.
4. In the event of an injury that occurs after all players have entered the game, the coach
must first use a non-starting player that is on the bench. If there are no non-starting
players on the bench, then a starting player that has been removed from the game may
re-enter. In this case the starting player will resume his/her original place in the batting
order and the substitute player that was entered shall assume the place of the injured
player in the batting order.
VIII. LEAGUE STANDINGS
1. Team standings shall be determined by utilizing the “Babe Ruth Point System”. The
team with the most points shall be deemed in 1st Place, the second most points in 2nd
Place, etc. If teams are tied in points, standings will be determined by the following tie
breakers:
1 – Head-to head record
2 – Most runs scored against each other
3 – Total runs scored in League play
4 – Coin flip
2. “Babe Ruth Point System” is as follows:
Win =
2 Points
Tie
=
1-1/2 Points
Loss =
1 Point
Forfeit =
0 Points
Note: A team must play a game in order to earn points.
IX.
LEAGUE TOURNAMENT
1. A modified double elimination league tournament will be played at the completion of
the regular season. Teams will be seeded according to the final league standings as
determined by the “Babe Ruth Point System”.
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2. The two (2) teams who are undefeated in the “Winners Bracket” will play in the
Championship Game for first (1st) and second (2nd) place. The last two (2) teams who
have one loss each in the “Losers Bracket” will play in the Consolation Game for third
(3rd) and fourth (4th) place.
3. The home team for all tournament games, except the Championship Game and the
Consolation Game”, shall be determined by the higher seed.
Example: 8th seed @ 1 seed
7th seed @ 2 seed
6th seed @ 3 seed
5th seed @ 4 seed
The home team (seeds 1 – 4) will supply two (2) new Babe Ruth approved baseballs for
each game. Each team will pay for one (1) umpire.
4. The home team for the Consolation Game” and for the “Championship Game” shall be
determined by a coin flip. The winner of the coin flip has the choice of being the home
team or the visiting team. CCBRL will supply the baseballs for the final two (2) games
and will pay for the umpires for the final two (2) games of the Tournament.
5. Players must participate in at least 50% of their team’s regular season games to be
eligible to play in the Playoff Tournament games.
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
LEAGUE
LEAGUE
LEAGUE
LEAGUE
LEAGUE
RULES
RULES
RULES
RULES
RULES
APPROVED
APPROVED
APPROVED
APPROVED
APPROVED
JUNE 2, 2005
MAY 30, 2006
MAY 29, 2007
MAY 29, 2008
MAY , 2009