RULES AND REGULATIONS
2008
Rule changes are shown in Bold.
Major changes include
the redefinition of the TOC C Division structure and mercy rule revision. Most
other changes are for clarification purposes.
1.0 The Bay State Baseball League Tournament of Champions (T of C) is a program of service to youth. It strives to establish the values of teamwork, sportsmanship and fair play in a competitive and demanding schedule of summer baseball games for as many children as possible.
2.0 In order to balance the competition the Board of Directors of the T of C has established three basic divisions, and levels of play within each division.
The best players from a league or district aged 11
or 12.
The best players from a league or district aged 10
or 11.
The
best players from a league or district aged 9 or 10. No player defined as a 9-year old may be
listed on any roster outside of the Tom Wright C Division.
A
player’s league age is defined as his/her calendar age as of April 30 of the
current season.
Under
normal circumstances, there are three qualifying rounds of games for the A and
B Divisions and two for the C Division.
Initially, each Division shall be subdivided geographically into leagues. A team shall play a qualifying round of games with other teams within its league. Weekend games during the qualifying rounds will be played at a host’s site, to be determined by the Board of Directors. At the conclusion of the qualifying round, the first and second place teams (and possibly third and even fourth place teams) of a league shall advance to the trophy weekend which will also be at a host’s site. Enough teams from each league shall advance to the trophy weekend to create at least two four-team districts. Teams in each district shall play to determine a champion and a runner up for their district.
The
league arrangements for each subsequent qualifying round shall be established
based upon each team’s finish in the previous qualifying round. Every effort shall be made to ensure that
the first and second place finishers shall not compete in groups made up of
third and fourth place finishers. Teams
may be placed in a lower group at the discretion of the Commissioner.
For
A and B Divisions: Teams that enter the competition in the 2nd round
will be placed in the highest bracket of play possible (ie
- upper level). Teams that enter the competition in the 3rd round,
or play rounds 1 and 3, will be placed at a level determined by the Division
Director. Note that in both A and B play, teams MUST play at least 2 rounds to
be eligible for the Tournament of Champions.
For
the Tom Wright C Division: Teams that enter the competition in the 2nd
round will be placed in a level determined by the Division Director. Note that
in Tom Wright C Division play, teams MUST play in both rounds to be eligible for the Tournament of Champions. In
all divisions, teams that play just one round will be placed at a level to be
determined by the Division Director.
A non-refundable registration fee for
each team entering the season must be filed with the league. This fee will be
payable whether the team(s) in question eventually play during said season or
drop out prior to the start of play.
Each
team shall provide a forfeiture fee as a deposit. The deposit shall be refunded upon request if
a team or host has not forfeited a responsibility, such as a scheduled game or
host commitment, and the T of C does not incur a financial deficit for the
season. If there is a deficit, only a
percentage, if any, of the deposit may be returned.
A
team that is registered and is included in the game schedule for a round of
games and then withdraws from the round, shall forfeit its registration fee for
the round and its deposit.
E. DIVISION DIRECTORS
Each division shall be run by a Division Director who shall be appointed by the Board of Directors. Each Division Director shall be directly responsible to the Board of Directors. Each Division Director may have one or more assistant volunteers.
1.0 DUTIES
The duties of a Division
Director shall include the following:
1.1
Establish the league for the geographical qualifying
round.
1.2
Establish the schedule for each qualifying round.
1.3
Seed the teams for each successive qualifying round.
1.4 Ensure the game results are entered in a
timely manner, ensure pitching eligibilities have not been violated and verify
league standings.
1.5
Determine the teams which shall play on trophy
weekends.
1.6
Receive protests from the managers relating to rules
interpretation, ascertain all the details and arrive at solutions with the
concurrence of the President or the Board of Directors.
1.7
Resolve the daily problems which are affecting the
successful operation of the division.
1.8
Arrange for the rescheduling of all games in the
event of inclement weather or any other conditions which prevent the playing of
games as scheduled and notify the umpire-in-chief.
F. HOSTED WEEKEND GAMES
In order to qualify as a host for qualifying weekend games or trophy weekend games, the host town/city must meet the following requirements:
1. Provide a Tournament Director or alternate who will be physically at the tournament site for all games.
2. Furnish the necessary number of playing fields to successfully complete the scheduled weekend games (two or three fields). The fields must be properly marked and manicured and, preferably, have outfield fences.
3. Furnish two adult, certified, mature and knowledgeable umpires for each game. It is strongly recommended that no family member of a player umpire a game in which the player takes part. The T of C will attempt to provide umpires for the games, if a request is made by the Tournament Director in time to make arrangements. The home team in each game shall pay the umpires their fees before the game begins. Teams will not be reimbursed for these fees.
4. Furnish the name and telephone number of a person who may be contacted for any last minute changes, especially in the event of inclement weather.
5. Every effort shall be made to start games no sooner than 10AM.
6. Furnish all weekend game results, including scores, pitchers and innings pitched to the Division Director.
7. Any league or program that requests and is scheduled to host weekend games and then reneges, shall forfeit its deposit.
1. Provide a Tournament Director or alternate who will be physically at the tournament site for all games. The Tournament Director shall be responsible for insuring that all teams abide by the rules and adhere to all pitching eligibility rules.
2. Furnish the necessary number of playing fields to successfully complete the scheduled weekend games (two or three fields). The fields must be properly marked and manicured and have outfield fences.
3. Furnish two adult, certified, mature and knowledgeable umpires for each game. It is strongly recommended that no family member of a player umpire a game in which the player takes part. The T of C will attempt to provide umpires for the games, if a request is made by the Tournament Director in time to make arrangements. The teams in each game shall split the umpire fees and pay them before the game begins. Teams will not be reimbursed for these fees.
4. Furnish the name and telephone number of a person who may be contacted for any last minute changes, especially in the event of inclement weather.
5. Every effort shall be made to start games no sooner than 10AM.
6. Receive trophy delivery, provide secured storage space for trophies and an area to conduct trophy presentations.
7. Make the T of C trophy presentation at the conclusion of the championship game. No other trophies or awards shall be given at this time.
8. Any league or program that requests and is scheduled to host weekend games and then reneges, shall forfeit its deposit.
2.1 The scheduled home team for each qualifying weekend game shall have the choice of dugouts.
2.2 The following seed shall determine the home team and choice of dugouts on a trophy weekend:
1. team with the best standing,
2. if tied after 1., team with the best won-loss record in the said round,
3. if tied after 2., coin toss. A coin toss shall give the winner choice of home or away, or choice of dugouts. The loser shall have a choice of home or away, or dugouts, based on what was selected by the winner.
For
a trophy weekend, a representative of the T of C President shall be on hand and
shall form a protest committee for each game.
Each committee shall include the President’s representative and a
representative from each of the two teams playing a game. The President’s representative shall choose
each team representative from those suggested by each team manager.
3.1
On
trophy weekends, a protest shall cause the game to be halted until the issue is
resolved by the Protest Committee.
1.1 Teams shall play scheduled home-and-away games at their own fields when there is no host town weekend site. The home team is responsible for game balls and two adult, certified, mature and knowledgeable umpires. It is strongly recommended that no family member of a player umpire a game in which the player takes part.
1.2 Every effort shall be made to start games no sooner than 10AM.
The home team has the choice of dugouts.
The home team is responsible for the condition of the field. The field should be manicured, marked and, preferably, have an outfield fence.
Umpire fees for
2.1 The home team is responsible for two umpires for each game. Umpires should be adult, certified, mature and knowledgeable. It is strongly recommended that no family member of a player umpire a game in which the player takes part. Umpires must have a Little League rule book as well as a copy of the T of C rules on hand to settle all rule disputes. Any complaints relative to umpires must be made to the Division Director. T of C does NOT pay umpire fees for scheduled weekday games.
2.2
Only
Bay State League approved umpires shall be used for T of C games.
2.3 If no qualified umpire(s) is available by 15 minutes after the scheduled start of the game, the respective managers have the option of re-scheduling according to available dates or playing the game as scheduled with a mutually agreed-upon umpire. Should the game be rescheduled, the proper Division Director must be notified.
2.4
Minimum umpire qualifications –
(Towns with or without
2.5 The first pitch of a game constitutes the acceptance, by both teams, of the umpires.
The home team is responsible for balls (Wilson A1074 or better) for all games, INCLUDING weekday, qualifying weekends and trophy weekends.
The home team has the choice of dugouts.
5.1 The home team manager is responsible for notifying the visiting team in the event that inclement weather does not permit a game to be started. The home team should make every effort to notify the visiting team in sufficient time to keep them from traveling unnecessarily. Once the game has started, the umpires have control of the game and shall decide when a game should be stopped and/or terminated.
5.2 Games postponed in the event of inclement weather MUST be played on the first open date on the T of C schedule. It shall be the responsibility of the home team manager to notify the Division Director of any postponements.
5.3 No qualifying game in a round shall be played after the Friday night prior to a trophy weekend. Team standings shall be determined as per rule J.18.0 for tie-breakers.
5.4 Any qualifying game in a round played on the Friday prior to a trophy weekend shall be started no later than 5:45PM. If the home team does not have a field available, the game shall be played at the visitor’s field (or at a neutral site if both fields are not available). The scheduled home team for the game shall be unchanged.
All
games MUST be played as scheduled with the following exceptions:
Scheduled
The winning team (be it
head coach, assistant coach or person designated to do so at manager’s
direction) must enter the correct result and pitching information into
the Bay State Baseball web site within 24 hours of the completion of the
game. If this is not done, the win shall not be credited. The first time a
manager/team fails to properly enter the information into the web site within
24 hours, it shall result in a warning.
Subsequent offenses shall result in a forfeit. Discretion will be observed by the Division
Director for extenuating circumstances.
In the
event of suspension of a game, the home team is responsible for entering
the information available for the game, up to the point of game suspension, on
the
Should there be a dispute
on entered information, managers must bring said item to the notice of
the Division Director within 48 hours of the completion of the game or else the entered data shall stand as reported.
Discretion will be observed by the Division Director for extenuating circumstances.
1.1
The
official
A. The names of up to 12 regular
players that have the right to participate in any game the team plays.
B. The names of up to 8 alternate
players that will be eligible to play for the team at the discretion of the
coaching staff.
C. A listing of contact information for
players (name, address, phone number, birth date) and coaches (name, address,
phone numbers, email address).
A roster cannot contain more than 20 players in total. The roster may be amended between rounds (but not after round 3 in the A and B Divisions, or round 2 in the C Division) by adding or deleting players, as long as th