2017 washington church league softball rules
2017 WASHINGTON CHURCH LEAGUE SOFTBALL RULES This league is formed for the purpose of friendly competition, with emphasis on Christian Fellowship. It is open to all persons 16 years of age or older. No player may play for another team in our league if he/she is on a team roster without the manager's permission. This could result in a forfeit. Official rules of the Amateur Softball Association (ASA) of America will prevail with the following exceptions. Note that rules in bold print are new or amended for 2017. 1. No metal or plastic spikes. Rubber spikes are permissible. 2. Free substitution is allowed. The batting order must remain the same. 3. Continuous batting order, but once the batting order is set it may not change except in the event of an injury. You can add players anytime during the game, but they must be put at the bottom of the lineup. 4. A minimum of eight (8) players is required; otherwise, a forfeit may be declared. A team may borrow two (2) players from the opposing team to avoid a forfeit with their consent, should the opposing team have sufficient players (10). A team will provide the opposing team with a catcher to allow them to have three (3) outfielders. A borrowed catcher may not make plays at home. He/she is only there to return the ball back to the pitcher. If another of their players comes, they must do their own catching. 5. A base runner cannot leave the base until the ball is hit. No courtesy step. 6. The offensive runner is out if the defensive player, at home plate, has possession of the ball and his/her foot on the plate and the offensive runner is more than halfway from home to third. Once the runner crosses the halfway mark, he/she cannot return to third base. A team may appeal this play if they feel a violation has occurred. You can tag the runner with the ball if for some reason you're off the plate. The runner has the mat and the catcher the plate. You may slide if it is a close play. 7. Should a male batter in front of a female batter be walked intentionally, in the opinion of the umpire, the female has the option of batting or receiving an intentional walk. 8. A batter is out if he/she hits two (2) foul balls after two (2) strikes. 9. A player must have played at least ten (10) games to be eligible for the playoffs. Ministers are exempt. 10. The pitching mound will be 50 feet from home plate. The bases will be 65 feet. 11. At the beginning of a game, a pitcher may take as many warm-up pitches as necessary, without reason. After the first inning only three pitches will be permitted at the start of each inning. Throwing the ball around the infield will be permitted at the start of the first inning only. None after that. Please see that both teams keep things moving between innings so we may have as much playing time as possible. 12. The home plate umpire will have the final decision as to when to call the second game in case of darkness. This will not be up to the individual teams.
13. Jeff Laskowski will schedule the make-up games. There will always be a night open for make- up games. 14. PROFANITY WILL NOT BE TOLERATED. You will receive one warning from the umpire. The second time, you will be ejected from the game! There will be no smoking on the field. Also, no throwing the bat! AUTOMATIC EJECTION! Any players involved in fighting will face possible suspension. No taunting opposite teams. No drinking on the grounds or parking lot. 15. Players must wear shirts at all times. 16. If a field is wet, please do not play on it. If you walk on the field, and it sticks to your shoes, DON'T PLAY!!! It ruins the field. Don't call me for the condition of the field. Contact the manager of the team you are playing. 17. Please notify the Assigning Umpire, Jeff Laskowski (724-344-4241) by 5:20 p.m. if you are not playing your game for any reason (rain, wet field, church meeting, etc.). Failure to do so will result in payment to the umpire. 18. A player cannot switch teams during the years, once he/she has played one game with that team, without the manager's consent. 19. Do not abuse the courtesy runner rule. Courtesy runners out of the batter’s box are no longer permitted. Courtesy runners for batters who have reached base can be used once per team per inning, with the runner being the last recorded out in the lineup. EXCEPTION: One Disciples player, Trevor Thomas, has a heart condition that doesn’t allow him to exert himself to the point of sprinting. Trevor will be afforded a courtesy runner out of the batter’s box. His courtesy runner will start behind the extended third base line and cannot leave the box until Trevor makes contact. His courtesy runner will be the last recorded out in the lineup and will not count as the one allowed courtesy runner per inning. 20. You are not permitted to take a running start to hit the ball. You are allowed to step into the ball, but no taking several steps to get a better swing. 21. We will be using the mat at home plate. If it's a legal pitch, with the arc of 6-12 feet, the umpire will call a strike. The catcher is to let the ball land on the mat, don't catch it. 22. Both managers are responsible for making sure the area is clean after the games. 23. During the entire season, starting from the first inning in both games, the count will be one (1) ball and one (1) strike when the batter steps in the box. This is to help speed up the game before darkness. 24. It is the home team’s responsibility to decide whether a game is rained out before 5:20 pm unless the two involved team managers make other arrangements. If the game is rained out: Call the opposing manager, Call Jeff Laskowski at 724-344-4241 to reschedule games and cancel umpires. 25. Make up games can be played during the week. There will always be an open field. The playoffs will start the following Monday after the regular season has finished. If you have at least nine (9) players available for the playoffs, then you will be expected to play. 26. Please try to start the games promptly at 6:30 p.m. This would help to cut down the number of games called on account of darkness. No grace time.
27. If a game is called off before it starts due to rain, each team owes the umpire $5.00. For example, if you are at the field and it rains before the game starts, then you owe $5.00 for the umpire. Partial games are paid at a rate of $10 plus $2 per inning. 28. We will use wooden bats this year. No exceptions. If the bat says baseball, it is legal as long as it is wood. 29. If there is a dispute on a call or a play, only the managers are to talk to the umpire—no one else. 30. Please clean up all trash after the game. 31. Women are allowed to use ASA-approved metal or composite bats. Refer to the ASA Approved Bat List and the ASA Non-Approved Bat List to confirm eligibility. 32. To avoid forfeits, we have adopted a substitution pool. In the event a team is short up to three players, he may follow a process, as outlined below, to see if any players are available to be used as substitutes. That team may have up to three players from other teams (note: substitutes MUST be rostered on other Washington Church League teams) to reach nine players. A sub cannot be used to reach 10 or more players. The sub must bat last and is limited to playing catcher, first base, or right field. Even though this rule was enacted in 2014, there were still a number of forfeits. The intent of this outline is to simplify the process required to avoid these forfeits, when possible. All managers’ cell phone numbers are listed on our website and on our master schedule. The manager who is short on players should call or text all other league managers and ask them to advise their players that a spot/spots are available for the upcoming game. Those managers will then contact their players with instructions to call the manager in need of players (give them the phone number). As players contact the manager in need of players, he’ll take them on a first-come-firstserved basis. In other words, managers cannot wait to see who calls before deciding on which players to take. Once all open spots are filled, the manager who started the process will let all other managers know his open spots have been filled, and the other managers will inform their players.
REMEMBER 1. Word of prayer prior to each game. Both teams are to gather at home plate. 2. Report game scores to Carl Gunnerson at 724-225-2702, no later than 9:15 p.m., regardless of the outcome of the game. Home teams should call the scores in. 3. Bases and home plate. Bases are to be tied down to prevent injury. 4. New softball prior to each game. 5. Umpire's fee is $28 per team for a doubleheader, $15 per team for a single game. Again, I remind you the purpose of this League. It is our duty as managers to be sure that your team is under control at all times. I realize during the heat of the game, tempers sometimes flare up. This could result in heated arguments, possible fighting, name-calling, etc. You feel bad after it's over, but the
damage is done. This looks bad for the team, the spectators and the League. I think that we have a real good League with a lot of superior ball players. We don't want some small incident to give us a bad mark. Everyone wants to win, but it's not always possible. We must learn to lose graciously. Remember, it's not whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game.
*** Enjoy the Season ***
13. Jeff Laskowski will schedule the make-up games. There will always be a night open for make- up games. 14. PROFANITY WILL NOT BE TOLERATED. You will receive one warning from the umpire. The second time, you will be ejected from the game! There will be no smoking on the field. Also, no throwing the bat! AUTOMATIC EJECTION! Any players involved in fighting will face possible suspension. No taunting opposite teams. No drinking on the grounds or parking lot. 15. Players must wear shirts at all times. 16. If a field is wet, please do not play on it. If you walk on the field, and it sticks to your shoes, DON'T PLAY!!! It ruins the field. Don't call me for the condition of the field. Contact the manager of the team you are playing. 17. Please notify the Assigning Umpire, Jeff Laskowski (724-344-4241) by 5:20 p.m. if you are not playing your game for any reason (rain, wet field, church meeting, etc.). Failure to do so will result in payment to the umpire. 18. A player cannot switch teams during the years, once he/she has played one game with that team, without the manager's consent. 19. Do not abuse the courtesy runner rule. Courtesy runners out of the batter’s box are no longer permitted. Courtesy runners for batters who have reached base can be used once per team per inning, with the runner being the last recorded out in the lineup. EXCEPTION: One Disciples player, Trevor Thomas, has a heart condition that doesn’t allow him to exert himself to the point of sprinting. Trevor will be afforded a courtesy runner out of the batter’s box. His courtesy runner will start behind the extended third base line and cannot leave the box until Trevor makes contact. His courtesy runner will be the last recorded out in the lineup and will not count as the one allowed courtesy runner per inning. 20. You are not permitted to take a running start to hit the ball. You are allowed to step into the ball, but no taking several steps to get a better swing. 21. We will be using the mat at home plate. If it's a legal pitch, with the arc of 6-12 feet, the umpire will call a strike. The catcher is to let the ball land on the mat, don't catch it. 22. Both managers are responsible for making sure the area is clean after the games. 23. During the entire season, starting from the first inning in both games, the count will be one (1) ball and one (1) strike when the batter steps in the box. This is to help speed up the game before darkness. 24. It is the home team’s responsibility to decide whether a game is rained out before 5:20 pm unless the two involved team managers make other arrangements. If the game is rained out: Call the opposing manager, Call Jeff Laskowski at 724-344-4241 to reschedule games and cancel umpires. 25. Make up games can be played during the week. There will always be an open field. The playoffs will start the following Monday after the regular season has finished. If you have at least nine (9) players available for the playoffs, then you will be expected to play. 26. Please try to start the games promptly at 6:30 p.m. This would help to cut down the number of games called on account of darkness. No grace time.
27. If a game is called off before it starts due to rain, each team owes the umpire $5.00. For example, if you are at the field and it rains before the game starts, then you owe $5.00 for the umpire. Partial games are paid at a rate of $10 plus $2 per inning. 28. We will use wooden bats this year. No exceptions. If the bat says baseball, it is legal as long as it is wood. 29. If there is a dispute on a call or a play, only the managers are to talk to the umpire—no one else. 30. Please clean up all trash after the game. 31. Women are allowed to use ASA-approved metal or composite bats. Refer to the ASA Approved Bat List and the ASA Non-Approved Bat List to confirm eligibility. 32. To avoid forfeits, we have adopted a substitution pool. In the event a team is short up to three players, he may follow a process, as outlined below, to see if any players are available to be used as substitutes. That team may have up to three players from other teams (note: substitutes MUST be rostered on other Washington Church League teams) to reach nine players. A sub cannot be used to reach 10 or more players. The sub must bat last and is limited to playing catcher, first base, or right field. Even though this rule was enacted in 2014, there were still a number of forfeits. The intent of this outline is to simplify the process required to avoid these forfeits, when possible. All managers’ cell phone numbers are listed on our website and on our master schedule. The manager who is short on players should call or text all other league managers and ask them to advise their players that a spot/spots are available for the upcoming game. Those managers will then contact their players with instructions to call the manager in need of players (give them the phone number). As players contact the manager in need of players, he’ll take them on a first-come-firstserved basis. In other words, managers cannot wait to see who calls before deciding on which players to take. Once all open spots are filled, the manager who started the process will let all other managers know his open spots have been filled, and the other managers will inform their players.
REMEMBER 1. Word of prayer prior to each game. Both teams are to gather at home plate. 2. Report game scores to Carl Gunnerson at 724-225-2702, no later than 9:15 p.m., regardless of the outcome of the game. Home teams should call the scores in. 3. Bases and home plate. Bases are to be tied down to prevent injury. 4. New softball prior to each game. 5. Umpire's fee is $28 per team for a doubleheader, $15 per team for a single game. Again, I remind you the purpose of this League. It is our duty as managers to be sure that your team is under control at all times. I realize during the heat of the game, tempers sometimes flare up. This could result in heated arguments, possible fighting, name-calling, etc. You feel bad after it's over, but the
damage is done. This looks bad for the team, the spectators and the League. I think that we have a real good League with a lot of superior ball players. We don't want some small incident to give us a bad mark. Everyone wants to win, but it's not always possible. We must learn to lose graciously. Remember, it's not whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game.
*** Enjoy the Season ***
