These are the most common and/or most unique rules being used for this event. Please see "Official Rulebook" for exhaustive list of playing rules. When in conflict, rules written here shall supercede those in the official rulebook.
As a player, you are responsible for knowing all official rules of the game. By participating in the league, you are agreeing that you are aware of all rules associated with the league and the sport, and agree to abide by them at all times.
RULES
This league is intended to be FUN first. We welcome players of ALL SKILL LEVELS to our fields, and therefore set rules that ensure the safety and enjoyment of our skilled players and our novices equally.
Be supportive of one another. Fighting, excessive verbal abuse, and poor sportsmanship will not be tolerated. League organizers reserve the right to dismiss any player from the event without refund.
Length: Games will run for 55 minutes or the completion of 7 innings, whichever comes first. If there is any time left on the clock after the last out of an inning is made, a new inning will begin.
Home/Away: The coaches will meet the umpire at home plate ahead of the game, and the game timer will start. The umpire will flip a coin to determine home team.
Run Rules: Games will be declared over by "run rule" if, by the conclusion of the 3rd, 4th, or 5th or 6th inning, the winning team is ahead by 20, 15, or 10 runs, respectively.
Extra Innings: Games tied at the conclusion of the time limit or 7th inning will go into extra innings. During extra innings play, the batting team will have a runner automatically placed on second (must be the last batter from the previous inning and cannot utilize a pinch runner until one batter has completed their at bat) and all batters will face a 3-ball, 2-strike pitch count, with no courtesy foul, when they approach the plate. During regular season play, only one extra inning will be allowed and a tie will occur if the score remains tied at the conclusion of the extra inning.
Substitute Players: All lineups have been balanced for the purposes of parity, and substitute players must be roughly equivalent to the players who are absent. All rosters have 12 players and substitute players can only be used when a team has less than 10 total players.
Emergency Exceptions: Catastrophic injuries, player ejections, and random but extreme occurrences could result in a team having fewer than 10 players to play very close to game time. In these cases, a coach may request an Emergency substitution and will select an available player from those in attendance or from extra players available on the other team. In this case, the Opposing Coach may approve the addition of a substitute player, provided the Opposing Coach is comfortable that the replacement player will be of comparable skill or less than the lowest skilled player removed from play. Opposing Coach may also approve a sub with a condition they feel allows play to continue without compromising the skill level of both teams (i.e. a selected sub can only play Catcher). Opposing Coach is under no obligation to place their team in a negative situation, but should make reasonable concessions to allow the game to continue in a manner where both teams will respect the outcome of the match.
Playing with Nine Players: Teams with fewer than 10 players due to injuries, quits, lack of appropriate subs, and/or other unforeseen events can continue to play with nine players. In these cases, the opposing team MUST provide a "Ball Returner" while they are at bat. The Ball Returner is only there to throw the ball back to the pitcher and is otherwise not obligated to play defense or assist in getting "Outs" in any way, shape or form (i.e. they are not obligated to catch a pop up foul ball). Once the ball is in play, the Ball Returner should step away from the field towards the fence to not give any impression of being involved in the play. For the team with 9 players, the 10th position in the batting lineup shall NOT count as an "out" when it comes up in the order.
Umpires: Excessive arguing and/or abusive language will never be tolerated. Umpires may issue warnings and dismiss players, coaches, and fans from a game if they are found to be abusive. Officials reserve the right to ban players with no refund if abusive behavior continues. There is zero tolerance for bat throwing. Throwing the bat will result in an immediate dismissal.
Pitching: All pitchers will be required to use either a provided safety screen or self-provided safety helmet with mask. Shin guards are highly recommended, but not required.
Unsafe Throws: Outfielders are not allowed to complete force out throws to first base. Any throw from outfield to first base for the intention of a force out will be ruled a dead ball and the runner will be awarded the base. Infielders brought into the outfield grass through defensive actions are allowed to complete the throw for a force out at first base. The runner can be thrown out at first through the use of a relay.
Hitting Middle: It's not illegal, but it is dangerous and some of our novice players may not be able to control it. But for those of you that can - don't do it. If you feel the other team is hitting middle a lot, please don't escalate.
Injury Exceptions: In the cases of injury, some rules may be bent to avoid placing players in harm's way. Coaches facing a situation that they believe requires an adjustment must discuss with the opposing coach a recommended solution. Opposing coach must approve the solution, and such approval should not be unreasonably withheld.
Injured Player / Can Not Continue: If a player is significantly injured in the course of play and cannot continue, they shall be removed from the lineup. When their batting position comes up, it shall be skipped and not counted as an automatic out. The player is unable to return to play for that game and, at a minimum, the following game if on the same day. If it is revealed that the player was compelled to fake an injury to remove themselves from the game, the game will be forfeited by the offending player's team.
Safety Base: Any batter running to first base will tag the safety bag to the right of the first base bag. If no safety bag is in place, then the batter should run as though there is a bag there and the umpire will determine the call based on their judgment.
Metal Cleats: Metal cleats are prohibited. Please use soft or hard rubber cleats, or turf shoes only.
Equipment (Bats): Any 220 or 240 USSSA stamped bat may be used in this league. Bats must be in good condition, and not modified in any substantial way (i.e. shaved).
Equipment (Balls): Each team will be supplied with balls prior to the start of the league. Each team is responsible for providing the opponent with their team ball(s). Balls must be the provided 12" balls for males, or 11" balls for females.
Pitch Count: All batters start with a count of one ball and one strike. A courtesy foul is not granted. An additional foul after any allowed courtesy foul will be an out. For extra innings or games quickened due to weather/scheduling issues, all batters start with a full count.
Home Runs: Each team is allotted TWO home run(s) without penalty. All home runs hit over the fence that are higher than the allotted total of home runs are automatically counted as an out.
Pinch Runners: One courtesy runner per gender, per inning. Pinch runner must be called for by the coach and acknowledged by the umpire prior to the Pinch runner being allowed onto the field. Pinch runner may only substitute for a runner who has touched first base at a minimum. Runners have the right to reject a coach's suggestion for a runner if they wish to run. A Pinch Runner may only substitute for one other player per inning. If they run once for a player and the player's spot in the lineup comes up again during the same inning, they may run again only for that player.
Batting: The batter must take position in the batter's box within five seconds of the pitcher receiving the ball after the previous at bat has completed. If the batter fails to enter the batter's box in the allotted time, the umpire shall issue a warning. If the batter fails to enter the batter's box in the allotted time again, the umpire may call delay of game and issue a strike.
Pitching: The ball must be pitched in a definite underhanded motion at slow speed. Pump faking is not allowed for this league/tournament. There is a 5 second pitch clock that starts when the pitcher has the ball and the batter has taken position in the batter’s box. The pitcher’s pivot foot must remain on the pitching plate. The pitcher may take one step while the pivot foot maintains contact with the pitcher's box. The pitched ball must arc to 6 feet above the ground before it passes any part of home plate. The pitched ball shall not rise higher than 10 feet above the ground.
Strikes: Any ball that lands within the strike zone while matching the height and speed pitching requirements shall be called a strike, based on umpire determination.
Pitching Screens: These screens are intended for safety, not to create an extra defensive player on the field. Screen must be positioned no more than three feet ahead of the pitching rubber. One of the pitching screen support legs must be lined up within the width of the pitching rubber and cannot be set to the side of the rubber. Pitchers using the screen must stay near the screen and cannot extend their defense away from it to create an extra fielder advantage; i.e. the pitcher must retreat part of their torso behind the net before the batter makes contact. After retreating behind the net, a pitcher may field any batted ball. If the pitcher fields a ball without retreating behind the net, it shall be a single base advancing dead ball. A ball batted into a pitcher's screen will be ruled as a foul ball. If the net is hit by a ball during a throw, the ball is still considered live. There's no multiple swapping between screen and helmet during an inning. If a pitcher uses protective equipment rather than a net, they may field the ball as normal; additionally, the team that is using the net is responsible for moving the net to and from the pitching mound.
Showing Up Late: If a player is late to the field of play, for any reason, they will bat last in the lineup to allow them time to show up for play. If they do not arrive by the time their batting spot comes up and they have not made arrangements ahead of time, the player will be removed from the lineup and be ineligible to play for the rest of that game. In this situation, the position is skipped and the batting team will not receive an automatic out for the missing player. If a player informs their coach ahead of time, the coach will inform the opposing coach of the absence and anticipated time of arrival, and the player will be allowed to play once they arrive and must be immediately inserted into the lineup in the next batting position available once they are ready to play.
Missing Games: All teams have been balanced with the expectation that all rostered players will be available for all games. If a player misses an excessive number of games, their team will vote whether or not the player will be allowed to participate in additional gamest. A player is never to be coerced, encouraged, or strategically asked to miss any games for their team.
Fighting / Arguing / Poor Sportsmanship
If teams are beginning to get disgruntled and tempers are flaring, the umpires will issue a full warning to both dugouts. After that point, no loud negative yelling or loud negative verbal communication may occur from one team directed at the other team. Any such communication will result in an immediate ejection from the game from the offending party. For purposes of clarification, players on opposing teams can continue to and are encouraged to chat with each other on an individual basis (i.e. congratulating a nice play/hit, having a polite convo while standing on 1st base, complimenting a nice pitch, etc) but no "Smack talk", disagreements about rules, or yelling will be permitted. Coaches of both teams may continue speaking with one another as needed, but must do so with a tone of civility in the presence of the umpire.
These are guidelines and rules for the event that all coaches must acknowledge and follow. Please review all rules carefully.
The following are the rules that coaches have all agreed to for the LeagueJoe league. These may differ slightly from USSSA rules or park rules, so umpires may not be aware. Please self-police and enforce these rules for your team!
COACHES GOLDEN RULE: All decisions for your team come down to you and you alone. You should not invite other players to participate in rule discussions, or allow them to participate in debates over rule disagreements. As coaches, we will at times disagree and may even sometimes get testy with one another, but it is important that we keep these discussions to the back of the house and do not allow rule issues to spill over to the general players. Keep it fun for everyone and don't let the inmates run the asylum ;)
Hitting Up the Middle
This is one of the most controversial areas of softball, and also the hardest to control. As coaches, we expect for you to generally treat a hard hit ball up the middle as something to be corrected, not something to be celebrated. In more competitive leagues, some players have the ability to purposefully drive the ball at the pitcher in retaliation or out of spite and/or anger, and we must always emphatically avoid such behavior or even talks and threats of such behavior.
If you are coaching a player/players with a tendency to hit up the middle, we recommend the following general coaching guidelines:
- Don't encourage "hustle" plays when the ball comes dangerously close to the pitcher
- Offer a loud apology to the pitcher, loud enough for your player to hear as well. Encourage the same behavior
- Many new players have a tendancy to drive the ball up the middle while swinging at low, outside corner pitches. Help them understand that this may be why its happening, and help them learn to pull those pitches or lay off them entirely.
If you are coaching and your team has a few line drives come towards your own pitcher:
- Do not let "mob mentality" take over your team! Some players, including the pitcher, may take offense and accuse the other team of "dirty" play. Don't let this attitude prevail, as the extreme majority of dangerous hits are accidental, not intentional.
- If a pattern is forming, pull the opposite coach over and make them aware that your players are beginning to get irked. Have that coach give his/her own players a quick notice to try to ease tensions.
- As mentioned above, many balls pitched low and outside have a tendancy to come back towards the pitcher. If you notice the pitcher missing heavily into this space, try to coach them to pitch more inside.
Substitute Players
Substitute players are allowed for a team ONLY when the total number of rostered players is less than 10. If you are expecting less than 10, you may use the LeagueJoe alternates list or players on other League Joe teams in different timeslots to select a player of near value to a player you lost.
It is your responsibility to inform the opposing coach who your sub is and who they are replacing. When using a sub with a comparable League Joe salary, you may play and bat them anywhere in the lineup you feel comfortable.
Occasionally, emergencies dictate non-LJ approved subs need to be used or a player of equivalent value is not available. In these case, the substitute players must bat at the bottom of the order and play "non-essential" positions in the field (catcher, right field, 2nd base - in that order)
If you only have 9 players, the opposing team will loan you a "ball returner" to play defense exclusively while they are batting. Catcher will need to rotate if the catcher comes up to hit. Catcher will perform to the best of their ability if called into action, but the pitcher should attempt to cover home plate for any plays to home. The team loaning the catcher should not "force throws" or unnecessarily send runners from 3rd base simply because they know the catcher is limited.
The league commissioner makes guidelines for subs and approves full time roster changes, but is not and cannot be expected to approve each substitute needed/used in each game across the league. Therefore, it is imperative that the coaches meet prior to the game being player to share rosters and substitute information at that time. If a coach believes a substitute is illegal or is too strong compared to missing player, the coach has the responsibility to resolve the issue with the coach to create the most fair play scenario possible. That may involve a coach making concessions to play certain players in certain positions, or bat them in certain places in the lineup. Whatever the case is, this must be addressed prior to the game start.
Stuff happens. People no show, subs go missing, coaches have bad weeks - it happens. Sometimes, the choice is picking up an illegal sub or not having a full team. At all times, playing the game is the top priority, so just talk through the logistics and make it as fair and competitive a game as possible. And once the coin flip ends, both coaches need to feel satisfied that their teams are in a position to win as fairly as possible.
The official rules for the sport, which may or may not be from a sanctioning body.
This event follows the One Nation rules for Slowpitch Softball. Please use the following link to download and read full rules.
